http://acollegemiscellany.com/PDFs/2006/payne03

Ireland’s

STUDENT

NEWSPAPER

Of

The

Year

Trinity News

2005

Ireland’s Oldest Student Newspaper

Est. 1947

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

trinity.news@tcd.ie

Could you be the next Cillian Murphy?

CAREERS

page 17

Vol.58 No.3

Paul Howard page 25 Interview

Planning permission fiasco may see top floor demolished Michael Ronson Trinity College may soon be forced to remove the top storey from the recently constructed Lloyd INS building due a series of errors in the planning application.

Trinity News has learned that a decision is pending on a third planning application for the building which, incredibly, could force

the College to demolish the entire seventh storey of the building or else pursue legal action against Dublin City Council.

The issue arose when a seven story building was constructed instead of the six storey building described in the orginal planning application. The Board of Trinity College subsequently applied for an amendment to the planning application post construction to

allow for this extra storey. This amendment was recently rejected.

The reason for the rejection cited by Dublin City Council was that the proposed amendment contained a description of the changes to the building that was “insufficient for the information of the public”. They went on to say that the “full nature and extent of the development” was not accurately represented. Amazingly, the

second application contained no dimensions or plans of the extra floor.

The Planning Office did not fine the college for the breach in procedure which would have been within its remit. It did however provide the College with criteria which would have to be fulfilled in the next planning application.

This included new site and newspaper notices that would “ade-

quately describe the works proposed”.

The Lloyd Institute is located next to the Hamilton building at the Westland Row end of campus.

The final cost of the building was €19.95m, €500,000 over the original budget. The original estimation was based on a six storey building and the reason to extend the building upwards without planning permission remains

unclear. The cost of removing the top storey could be millions and would push the overall cost of the project even further over budget.

There is a precedent for floors being demolished from buildings for not complying with planning permission. In the late sixties developers were forced to remove several storeys from Liberty Hall as it contravened planning rules in relation to over-

all height.

Whether this fate awaits the INS building remains to be seen. Trinity College has resubmitted its application for planning permission in a more detailed form but a final decision is not expected until after Christmas.

Trinity’s building projects News Features: Page 4

Phil under fire for Islamic fundamentalist outburst Phil Council pose for photographs with al-Qaeda sympathisers

Photo: Diego Cortez

John Lavelle

Inside Rugby Colours Tadhg Peavoy reports from Donnybrook See page 28

College Buildings Gearóid O’Rourke looks at Trinity’s development projects

See page 5

Rip-Off Republic?

Fianna Fáil & Fine Gael debate Eddie Hobbs’ views

See page 18

Relatively Speaking

Senior politicians and newspapers have blasted the University Philosophical Society’s decision to bring a prominent Islamic extremist into the country to speak to Trinity students. The Phil has defended inviting Anjem Choudray, a prominent Al-Qaeda sympathiser, to speak at its Islamic debate in the GMB last Thursday, November 10.

Mr Choudray is reported to be under Garda investigation for inciting hatred after comments he made at the Phil debate. The British lawyer told students that Ireland could be seen as “a legitimate target” for a terrorist attack because of its “collaboration” with

Extremist tells students Ireland could be seen as ‘legitimate’ terror target

the United States.

“If you are going to allow your country to be used to refuel a US plane which is going on a bombing raid, what do you expect our reaction to be?” Mr Choudray asked students. He added that “Muslims being occupied in Iraq and Afghanistan” would not distinguish between Ireland and the US when “retaliating”.

Mr Choudray had been invited to Trinity by the Phil to speak in favour of the motion that “September 11th was justified.” It was his fourth visit to the society.

Choudray was joined by fellow members of the British Islamic extremist group Al-Muhajiroun. A number of moderate Muslim leaders spoke against the motion.

Mr Choudray’s dramatic

speech sparked a media frenzy with senior figures calling for legislation to ban Islamic fundamentalists from entering the country.

Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea criticised the Phil’s for inviting Mr Choudray to Ireland. The minister said that the cabinet would discuss ways of preventing Islamic extremists from being given platforms to speak in the future.

“The Philosophical Society doesn’t have an obligation under the law as it stands to inform the government or to inform anybody who they are inviting to address any particular meeting.

Certainly we weren’t made aware of it,” Mr O’Dea told RTE Radio.

“I’m very unhappy with the fact that he’s inviting international ter-

rorists to wreak mayhem and havoc on innocent Irish civilians. I'm going to discuss with my cabinet colleagues the possibility of minimising the risk of this recurring.”

Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim Higgins told Trinity News that it was “immature” of the Phil to “give this man a platform, when his violent views were well known.” He said he would be concerned that Mr Choudray’s speech might inspire Trinity students to take up an extremist Islamic outlook.

On Friday, the Irish Independent issued a strongly worded editorial condemning Trinity College and the Phil for offering Mr Choudray the chance to speak. The editorial, titled ‘Ban this man’, opined that Islamic

extremists “must be refused platforms.” It asked, “Why has Mr Choudray been given one at Trinity College?”

In the face of allegations of foolishness and immaturity, the Philosophical Society and Trinity College both emphatically defended the decision to allow Mr Choudray to speak at the debate.

Phil President Andrew Campbell said, “The Phil does not in any way support Islamic fundamentalism. We merely wish to provide a forum for discussion and debate on issues that are relevant to society.”

“That a government minister should condemn open debate and discussion is quite frankly dis-

Continued Page 3

Einstein for beginners from Oliver North

See page 24

That’ll be the dEUS Steve Clarke interviews Belgium’s rock gods

See page 13

Index College News p1-3 News Feature p4 National p6 International p7 Features p9 Film p10 Music p12-13 Food & Drink p14-15 Travel p16 Careers p17

SU & Societies p18 Comment & Opinion p19-20 Letters p21 Gaeilge p22 Inter’l Students p23 Science p24 Sports Features p25-26 Sport p27-28

Look out for Issue 4 in Week 7!

Redundant CSC Ógra Shinn Féin employee wins kicked off campus compensation Jonathan Drennan Trinity College’s branch of Sinn Féin has been kicked off campus until the new year after a threatening email relating to Margaret Thatcher was forwarded to members by the party’s auditor, Ms Grace Vaughey. In an official statement Trinity College said, “Arising from an internal disciplinary investigation, the Junior Dean will not be giving approval to Ógra Shinn Féin for events requiring her approval for the remainder of Michaelmas term 2005.”

The email, sent using Ms Vaughey’s college email account, urged recipients to send hate mail to a Margaret Thatcher fan site to coincide with the former British

Thatcher: Hate mail Prime Minister’s birthday.

According to one Sinn Fein member, the email implored recipients to insult Mrs Thatcher’s dead husband Dennis, and signed off with a chilling statement: “we’ll get the

bitch yet”. This is an apparent reference to the IRA's assassination attempt on Thatcher in 1986 at the Conservative Party conference in Brighton.

The email came to light after a Sinn Féin member was offended by the content and reported the incident to the Central Societies Committee. The CSC referred the incident to the Junior Dean, Emma Stokes. The Junior Dean fined Ms Vaughey €75 and ordered that Ógra Shinn Féin not be permitted to book college rooms for functions until at least after Christmas. The CSC evicted Sinn Féin from their office in House 6 and deprived them of all college funding until the new year.

Continued Page 2

John Lavelle The Central Societies Committee (CSC) has been instructed to pay €7,000 in compensation to an employee who was laid off after 13 years of service, Trinity News has learned. The Labour Relations Commission (LRC) told the CSC to add €7,000 to the redundancy package of Mrs Eilish Fitzsimons at a hearing on Friday, October 14.

Mrs Fitzsimons was made redundant in June of this year after working as a part time administrator in the CSC office in House 6 since 1992. The Central Societies Committee is the body which funds and regulates student

societies in Trinity.

The CSC threatened legal action against Trinity News last month in a bid to prevent details of the case from being published.

Mrs Fitzsimons brought a case to the LRC in October alleging that she had been unfairly dismissed by the CSC’s Chairperson Rory Treanor and Honorary Treasurer Joseph O’Gorman.

In her submission, Mrs Fitzsimons argued that there was no legitimate grounds for redundancy as the CSC had hired a new member of staff to perform similar duties shortly after she had been laid off. The CSC disputed this

Continued Page 3

2

Tuesday November 15th, 2005

News Editor: John

Trinity News

COLLEGENEWS

Trinity outside world’s top 100 universities Bernie Reeves Trinity College has plummeted out of the top 100 universities in the world.

The college dropped to 111th place, down from 87th position in 2004, in The Times’ World University Rankings published last week.

Trinity is still officially the leading university in Ireland, despite this unexpected fall. None of the other six universities in the Republic – UCD, DCU, UCC, NUI

Galway, NUI Maynooth and University of Limerick - make the top 200 list. Northern Irish universities also fail to break into the rankings.

The rankings are compiled annually by The Times’ Higher Education Supplement and compare universities from across the globe in a number of categories. Trinity is relatively highly regarded by the leading academics surveyed, receives 31% in the ‘peer review’ category. But the low staff-student ratio at the college is

cited as a weakness. Trinity scores just 5% in this area.

The Dean of Research, Prof Ian Robertson told Trinity News that “While it is disappointing that Trinity College dropped from 87th to 111th in the rankings, we are very pleased that College still features in the top 200 in the world, and is the only Irish university to do so.”

“We are also delighted that TCD features prominently in the THES world's Top 100 Science Universities, rising significantly

from 94th in the world last year to 75th in the world this year – this is an excellent achievement, particularly given the level of funding of Irish universities.”

The league table also highlights the huge gulf in standards between Trinity and its sister universities, Cambridge and Oxford, which are deemed to be the third and fourth best in the world respectively. Harvard University near Boston retains its place at number one on the list

Buses, booze and banter on the Trinity Mystery Trip

THES World University Rankings 2005 The World’s Top Universities

How Trinity Fared:

1. Harvard University, Massachusetts

Score by Individual Category Peer Review 31% Recruiter Review 14% International Staff 17% International Students 21% Staff per Student 5% Citations per Academic 8% Overall 27.6%

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology 3. Cambridge University 4. Oxford University 5. Stanford University, California 6. University of California, Berkeley 7. Yale University, Conneticut 8. California Institute of Technology 9. Princeton University, New Jersey 10. Ecole Polytechnique, Paris 11. Duke University, North Carolina 11. London School of Economics 13. Imperial College, London 14. Cornell University, New York 15. Bejing University

World Ranking by Faculty Science Technology Biomedicine Social Sciences Arts & Humanities

A third of school convenor positions left vacant Student representation under threat from academics Úna Faulkner

Roll up for the magical mystery tour Terry Bollea 550 students gathered around the Pav at 4pm last Thursday ready to embark on the first ever Trinity Mystery Trip. With no idea where they were bound for everyone piled onto the buses, pulled the curtains, and began singing and playing drinking games.

The first destination was the Sky venue in Portlaoise. The students didn’t mind the journey though as there were all sorts of fun

and frolics going on on the buses.

Complete strangers ended up singing songs together, sharing drinks, scoring each other and even exchanging other bodily fluids in some cases.

In the Sky venue as bus after bus began to arrive the place filled up and was heaving with Trinity Students, much to the bewilderment of the Portlaoise locals. DJ JJ Rolf whipped the crowd up into a frenzy with people dancing on top of the bar and tables; when he played Smells Like

Photos: Duane Johnson Teen Spirit a spate of crowd surfing broke out on the dancefloor. After two hours in the Sky venue it was time to pack up and head for the next destination – The Music Factory in Carlow.

By the time the entourage arrived, everyone had been on the tear for about 8 hours but there was no sign of the party stopping anytime soon. Bouncers tried to stop tripgoers from climbing onto the stage but were overpowered by the drunken mob of students.

It was 3:15 by the time the last bus left Carlow and got back into Dublin for 4am. The trip definitely had a lasting impression on the locals of Portlaoise and Carlow as well as the few students who can actually remember where they were. With everyone in such a heap after the trip the real hardcore stories of the Mystery Trip have yet to be revealed.

Reports suggest that at least two students were left stranded in Carlow and one female student was hospitalised.

Trinity news 6 7 9 1 8 5 7 4 1 9 1 9 5 9 3 2 1 5 3 4 9 7 2 6 4 6 2 8 1 4 3 9

8 2 4 7 4 5 4 9 3

Sinn Féin sorry for Thatcher email

ed.

Continued from Page 1

The School of Physics also backed limiting student positions, proposing that a ‘Student Liaison Committee’ be set up as opposed to allowing students to sit on the Executive Committee, which makes decisions about finances and employment issues.

This proposition was deemed unacceptable by both the Students’ Union (SU) and the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU), on the grounds that the proposed Liaison Committee would have no real role in decision making.

During the summer months, this issue grew and grew, and despite several meetings between the SU, the GSU and the new Senior Lecturer, Mr Colm Kearney, the issue was not resolved. The discussion was brought up at the highest level of college bureaucracy, the College Board, two weeks ago.

According to Mr McCormack, both the SU and the GSU felt it imperative that student representation exist at School level. After much intense argument, a compromise was reached.

It was agreed that student representatives would be allowed on the School Executives for one year, with a review at the end of the year.

Speaking about the convenor vacancies, Mr McCormack said that he was happy with the successful election of student representatives to the Schools of Engineering and Physics.

Joseph O’Gorman, Honorary Treasurer of the CSC, was blunt when questioned about Vaughey’s actions. “The whole thing in my opinion was extraordinarily stupid with no sense attached and it was also an incitement to hatred.”

Mr Justin Moran of Sinn Féin’s Dublin office was quick to pour cold water on the incident. “The first thing I want to clarify is that she [Vaughey] didn’t write it. Of course I would’ve preferred if she hadn’t done it but I wouldn’t overstate it. It shouldn’t have happened,” he said.

Ms Vaughey has since apologised to the recipients of the offensive message. The original writer of the email is unknown.

Despite the apology, elements of paramilitarism are still being published by Trinity Sinn Fein. The society’s CSC website displays a logo of a coffin draped with the Irish flag with three gunmen wearing balaclavas.

The statement ‘remember our dead’ appears below, with a substantial list of volunteers lost in the conflict.

This is not the first time Ógra Shinn Féin has been landed in hot water for inciting violence.

Last year at the Union of Students in Ireland conference, an Ógra Shinn Féin member from UCD made headlines by displaying a threatening banner. A sign saying ‘One Tory, One Bullet’ was directed at USI President Ben Archibald.

SUDOKU HARD

MEDIUM

EASY

8 5

The Students’ Union failed to fill eight of the available 23 school convenor positions at SU Council on Thursday, November 3. The newly created convenors will represent students on School Executives, the administrative bodies for Trinity’s new academic units. The eight elections had to be deferred until the next SU Council on November 14. The vacancies come as a blow to the SU, which was involved in a heated battle over the summer to protect student representation during the college restructuring process.

Student positions on the powerful new school executives had been in serious doubt after being challenged by the Schools of Physics, Engineering and Mathematics. But a compromise agreement at the last meeting of the College Board secured a place for student representatives on the executives on a one year trial basis.

The dispute kicked off during the summer when the School of Engineering and the School of Physics argued that student representation was inappropriate on the grounds of competency and confidentiality. The School of Engineering proposed that no student representatives were necessary on the School Executive and then further proposed that the number of students who sat on the School Committee should be limit-

75th 97th Not Rated 80th Not Rated

3

5 3

6 4 8 9

6 7 8 5 9 4 3 6 8 2 4 5

8 1 9 5 2

4 6

8 9 8

2 4

3

9 6 1

5 3

4 7 2 1 9

7 6

Assistant News Editor: Úna Faulkner

Tuesday November15th, 2005

Trinity News

COLLEGENEWS

Phil defends News in Brief extremist invite

Engineering professor is new national transport chief Trinity professor Margaret O’Mahony has been appointed to oversee the Transport 21 project, the government’s ambitious new €34.4billion national transport plan. Prof O’Mahony, who is head of the Department of Civil, Structural & Environmental Engineering at Trinity College, will also lead the team which will establish the new Dublin Transport Authority.

The appointment was announced last week by Minister for Transport Martin Cullen.

Prof O’Mahony is charged with setting up the powerful new body which will coordinate Dublin’s transport system. Once the authority is established, the Trinity academic will chair the Transport 21 project in a non-executive capacity.

Prof O’Mahony will be responsible for creating an integrated transport system for Dublin, to include seven new

Luas projects, two Metro lines, and an underground station at St Stephen's Green integrating all services.

The €34.4 billion price tag is equivalent to €9.4 million each and every day for the next 10 years. Given the importance of the project, the team will report directly to the Minister for Transport.

Prof O’Mahony’s experience and qualifications include over 20 years of international experience in the transport establishment and engineering sector.

She holds a graduate degree in Civil Engineering from NUI Galway, as well as a Doctorate in Engineering Science from Oxford. She is a fellow of TCD and Director of TCD’s Centre for Transport Research, and has experience in the public transport industry in Ireland, the US, and developing countries.

Continued from Page 1 appointing,” said Mr Campbell.

“People should be allowed to make up their own minds when it comes to statements make be a figure like Anjem Choudary.”

The Secretary of the society Daire Hickey was critical of the media coverage of the debate. “Given the massive coverage the Irish Independent gave to Mr Choudary on its front page, it seems odd to criticise the Phil for giving him a ‘platform’. It was a balanced debate, and we also heard from prominent moderate Muslim leaders. The media coverage didn’t reflect this.”

Trinity College stood by the Phil’s right to allow controversial figures the opportunity to address students. “Student societies are autonomous,” a Trinity spokesperson said. “College authorities have no active role in who is invited to participate in debates, as long as everything is within legal boundaries.” The Provost is the senior patron of the Philosophical Society.

Meanwhile, as the debate rages about societies’ right to host controversial guests, Anjem Choudray told Trinity News that his remarks had been blown out of proportion. “The media coverage was unfair. If a politician said what I said, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. But because it was me, suddenly the media bring out the pejoratives: ‘extremist’, ‘fundamentalist’, ‘fanatic’.”

“It was a wonderful debate. I wasn’t inciting hatred.

There were no veiled threats.”

Mr Choudray’s remarks have enraged Irish Islamic leaders.

Dr Ali Al-Saleh, of the Islamic Centre, Milltown, expressed concern that Mr Choudray’s extremist views would be seen as representative of the Muslim community.

“Islamic society considers Anjem Choudray a criminal and a terrorist and an infidel. This man does not speak for us. Terrorists like him should not be given the chance to speak,” said Dr Al-Saleh. “There is a real danger that the Irish Muslim community will suffer as a result of this terrorist’s speech.”

TN editor expelled

by SU cronies The editor of Trinity News, Mr Andrew Payne, was unceremoniously ejected from Students’ Union Council, on Thursday, November 3. Mr Payne was escorted out by a member of the, quote-unquote, SU Electoral Commission because he was “no longer a capitated student”.

SU regulations demand that a special vote must be held if a non Trinity student wishes to enter Council during proceedings. Mr Payne’s Trinity College

student card had expired less than 72 hours before.

Mr Payne has been heavily involved in the Students’ Union in the past, holding the positions of class representative, BESS Convenor, Secretary of the Publicity and Publications Committee, member of the Union Executive and member of the University academic council. He was also a candidate for the position of Deputy President in the SU elections last year.

Ball date announced The date for the Trinity Ball has been set for May 12. The Ball will take place on the Friday before Trinity Week, as is tradition.

With six months to go, preparations for the Ball are already well underway. Ents Officer Niall Hughes is remaining tight lipped about what bands are being lined up to headline the

social event of the year. “We’ve got MCD on board and we’re in talks with a number of big acts but so far nothing has been confirmed,” Hughes said.

As always, speculation about the headline act has kicked off early. So far, rumours have focused on The Arcade Fire, The Kaiser Chiefs and Bell X1.

David Molloy and Diego Cortez

3

‘September 11 was justified’

Photo: C.K. O’Mahony

More fracas at the Phil as fistfight narrowly avoided

Patrick Cockburn squares up to Clifford May in GMB chamber Photo: Guiseppe Cossiano

Diego Cortez Michael Ronson Islamic fundamentalist Mr Anjem Choudray is under investigation by gardai for allegedly inciting violence at a Philosophical Society debate last Thursday, November 10. But just seven days previously, another Phil debate almost degenerated into violence when two speakers had to be restrained from coming to blows.

The fracas broke out between The Independent’s Middle East correspondent Patrick Cockburn and American right wing commentator Clifford D May during a debate on US foreign policy

in the GMB, on Thursday, November 3.

The incident was sparked when Mr May, who heads the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy, accused Mr Cockburn of defending Sadaam Hussein.

“You are one of the people who did not report Sadaam’s crimes!” he declared. “So you have an interest in minimising what the regime was about!”

An enraged Mr Cockburn rose to his feet and aggressively confronted Mr May, shouting “This is a lie, an outrageous lie sir! Why do you tell these lies?” As the speakers squared up to each other, a shouting match ensued and the mayhem spread to

the other guests and members of the audience.

As the situation escalated, the chairperson of the debate, RTE reporter Charlie Bird roared at Mr Cockburn to sit down. A number of speakers bellowed at Mr May to withdraw his allegation.

Phil council member Mark Hanlon rose to his feet and tried to restrain Mr Cockburn. Two other members of the Phil Council raced from the room to get security. And the remainder of the audience watched events with a mixture of discomfort and amusement.

Eventually, Mr May withdrew his comments and the episode passed off without violence.

SU and JCR in secret talks about closer links Gearoid O’Rourke A secret meeting took place last week between the Students’ Union and the Trinity Hall Junior Common Room (JCR) to discuss closer links between the two groups, Trinity News can reveal.

On Monday, November 7, SU President John Mannion and JCR President John Michell met to discuss ‘formalising links’ between the two organisations and aligning their overlapping areas of responsibility. The JCR is the representative body for students living in the Trinity Hall complex in Dartry.

Mr Mannion admitted to Trinity News that “The SU and the JCR are working together to formalise links to help the students out in Trinity Halls”. This was con-

firmed by a JCR Officer present at the meeting.

However, the JCR President John Michell was adamant that no discussions had taken place. He said there had been “no direct contact” with the SU about formalising relations and that they wished to “work closely in cooperation [with the SU] but remain mutually independent.”

Mr Michell’s denial is hardly surprising given the recent tension between the SU and the JCR. JCR Officers were enraged by a front page article in the latest edition of the Students’ Union newspaper, the University Record.

The article was critical of the JCR’s management for allegedly spending Halls students’ money frivolously. There have also been questions raised over the JCR’s

finances following the lack of any published accounts for the final section of last year.

JCR President John Michell felt that “this is an issue which has been blown out of proportion by rumours… this article is inaccurate and doesn’t reflect a real sense of the JCR.” But Mr Tom Dillon, SU Deputy President and editor of the University Record stands by the article and his decision to place it on the front page.

When questioned by Trinity News about the propriety of the article he simply said “Yeah, its news!” The anger within the JCR caused by this article may explain why John Michell was unwilling to admit talks had been entered into with the SU. John Mannion commented that any financial issues in the

JCR are “new problems” and that they “were never problems when there were only a hundred and forty students out there.” He stated that the SU “will deal with this problem as we would deal with any problems – that is to sit down and come to a compromise on what is the best solution for both the SU and the JCR.” Given the current tension between the organisations it seems unusual that negotiations aimed at bringing the bodies closer together are underway. However Mr Mannion said he has always stressed the importance of just simply talking with the JCR and maintains that the SU just wants to give them “some advice.”

Mr Brendan Tangney, the Warden of Trinity Hall, told Trinity News that he supports the moves to

a closer relationship. He admitted that he was aware that discussions were taking place between the two bodies, and added that he is “very supportive of the SU and JCR working out their boundary issues.” Mr Tangney admitted that he has encouraged dialogue between the two bodies in the past but denies initiating the latest round of discussions.

Neither the SU or the JCR are willing to comment about any potential models for a closer relationship. Possible solutions may include the establishment of a Trinity Hall Officer within the SU or the more Machiavellian suggestion that the SU may run an unofficial candidate in the next JCR elections. A merger between the groups is also a possibility.

Some Might Say €110,000 taken away by men CSC to Compiled by John Lavelle

“I’m not going to strap a bomb around myself and blow anybody up”

in white coats on Med Day

Continued fromPage 1

Fundamentalist Abu Bakri declares his peaceful intentions at the Phil’s Islamic debate, and the audience breathes a collective sigh of relief

“We’ll get the bitch yet” An email sent by Trinity’s Ógra Sinn Féin branch urges members to send hate mailto a Margaret Thatcher fansite

“This isn’t democracy, it’s a farce!”

Class rep Kevin Dillon jumps on a table and makes a spectacleof himself during the first Students’ Union Council of the year

The Numbers Game Compiled by John Lavelle

0.003 The proportion of Trinity students who signed upto the Historical Society’s ‘People Finder’ program in its first 2 weeks

24 The number of places Trinity College dropped in the Times World University Rankings

2 The number of students left behind in Carlow during the first ever Trinity Mystery Trip

cough up €7,000

Tanaiste Mary Harney and Provost John Hegarty at Med Day launch Hannah Scally Trinity medical students braved the wet weather to raise in excess of €110,000 for good causes on Med Day 2005, held on Thursday, November 3. 300 students took to the streets of Dublin to fundraise for the Palliative Care and Oncology services in Tallaght Hospital (which provides hospice care and tumour research) and for the Trinity Access Programme (TAP). An Tanaiste, Mary Harney

was present for Med Day’s launch.

Dressed in red shirts and “doctory stuff” (in the words of one Med student), over 300 students were divided into teams such as “team spleen” and “team infertility” and sent out into the heavy rain to shake buckets. Henry St, Houston Station, Rathmines and the M50 were among the locations where students spent the morning collecting from the public.

At one o'clock collectors returned to campus for games, including a wet and squeaky boun-

Photo: Karina Finegan-Alves

cy castle and a fancy dress tennis tournament. This was followed by sponsored waxing in the Pav, hosted by comedian Dave Mc Savage.

Brave young doctors agreed to wax legs, arms and chests (“just lots and lots of body parts”), to raise more money for the day. The top sponsorship was €350, raised by Johnny O’Mathéna for shaving off his afro. Waxing was followed by a student Stars in their Eyes in the Ed Burke theatre in the Arts block.

Med Day has been running for four years. All Medicine

undergraduates take part in the fundraising event, which is organised by a committee of 5th year students.

Over €55,000 was raised entirely by the students, topping last year's total of €52,000.

Med Day Committee Chairperson Dave Martin said, “We were thrilled to learn that hospital management at Tallaght have kindly agreed to match all funds raised by Med Day, so every euro donated will become two.”

allegation, saying that their new employee’s duties differed significantly from those performed by Mrs Fitzsimons.

Details of the dispute have not been made public by the LRC. But Trinity News understands that the Commissioner’s report upholds many of the claims made by Mrs Fitzsimons and her SIPTU trade union representative.

The report recommends that the CSC pays Mrs Fitzsimons €7,000 in compensation, in addition to the original redundancy package, believed to be in excess of €15,000.

The CSC’s Honorary Treasurer Mr Joseph O’Gorman, who represented the Central Societies Committee at the hearing, said that “A recommendation has been made, and if it is accepted by both sides, no one will be left horrendously injured by the affair.”

Mr O’Gorman added that he would be issuing a full statement on the matter when the dispute was “completely resolved”.

It is believed that the CSC will accept the Labour Relations Commission’s ruling rather than appealing the decision to a higher court. The CSC executive approved the payment of the €7,000 compensation at a confidential meeting two weeks ago.

Mrs Fitzsimons could not be reached for comment.

4

News Feature Editor: Gearóid O’ Rourke

Tuesday November 15th, 2005

Trinity News

NEWS FEATURE

Trinity College Lays Foundations For A Bright Future Trinity News’ Gearoid O’Rourke dons hard hat, high visibility jacket and steel capped boots and digs deep to find what is to come on the building horizon for Trinity.

The Trinity Centre for Health Sciences is located on the Tallaght campus adjoining the Adelaide and Meath Hospital Dublin’s Education Centre.

This complex houses the academic Departments of Paediatrics, Community Health and General Practice, various other academic clinical units and administration units. It also

The development of the stables attached to the Provost’s house is currently one of the most advanced building projects yet to reach the construction stage.

The stables long in disuse are to be converted into the Trinity Irish Art Research Centre which as the name suggests will house a centre of excellence in the study of Irish Art. The project is being funded by a donation of 1.5million to the college from an American donor who wishes to

currently hosts the Haughton Institute for Postgrad Education in the Health Sciences and the Robert Graves Postgrad Centre for continuing medical education. The second phase of development at this site has recently been given planning permission and will entail a large increase in nursing accommodation as well as

remain anonynous. The money was donated for this specific purpose and according to Acting Director of Buildings Paul Mangan the availability of the funds and stables at the same time decided that the centre would be based there.

There have been tight constraints on this development as the stables have listed building status. Thus the architects have had to come up with inventive solutions so as not to adversely affect the original

medical research centres. These will the Institute for Preventitive Medicine and Advanced Care (IPMAC). This institute will be one of the first in the country and is promised to be the most advanced once completed. Currently funding has been secured for the medical reserch centre; however Trinity is still seeking a substantial portion of the funding for the accommodation development. If this funding is not found within a reasonable time period the Buildings Office have confirmed that the proposed plans may have to be substantially revised. The development as planned will represent one of the largest investments in an off-campus site in Trinity history. character of the building. Thus horse stalls have been turned into reading rooms while coachrooms have been transformed into classrooms and meeting rooms.

One of the few concessions to modernity has been the installation of an elevator to make the building accessible to those with disabilities. Access to the building will be via an underground passage from the Arts Block.

Mr Mangan stressed that it was very important to retain as much of the original stables as possible and that the design respected the original use of the building. A conservation architect was involved in the project from the outset to oversee this. The Provost has expressed his pleasure that the stabels are being put to good use. Thirty researchers will work in the new centre studying and maintaining the archives housed in the centre which Mr Managn described as an international resource.

Currently Pearse Street is an thorn in the side on Trinity College. The college has long been criticised for effectively killing off the street as a commercial center by bricking up the majority of the shop fronts on the street.

However plans are afoot to rejuvenate the entire Pearse Street perimeter of Trinity. In what could be the most ambitious building project undertaken by the college in recent times the plans include two completely new large scale buildings as well as the complete rennovation of existing buildings.

As can be seen in the picture above, the centrepiece of the development will be a

major new pedestrian and vehicular entrance fronted by a public space to be called North Gate. This public space is aimed at greatly improving the visual aspect of the street. It has also been designed to align directly with Moss Street to give uninterrupted views both to and from the entrance.

According to Trinity’s Acting Director of Buildings Paul Mangan, the college is eager to see the project succeed and has a great desire to rejuvenate the Pearse Street perimeter of the college. In fact he went as far as to say that a new major entrance was not strictly needed by the college with the imminent construction of one in the new sports hall develop-

ment. Despite this gesture by the college the plans have already run into planning issues with initial submissions being returned over concerns for five listed buildings in the scheme. These buildings sport unique tiled shop fronts that the City Planners are keen to preserve. They have been incorporated into designs for the rejuvenation and it is hoped that this will prove sufficient to allow the plans to move forward.

The overall development would create 20,000 sq uare metres of additional space for college use as well as commercial units on ground level.

The inclusion of these commercial units is hoped to rein-

vigorate the area as a commercial district.

Mr Mangan could not definitely confirm what use the extra space would be put to at this early stage. He did suggest however that if the plan goes ahead the Civil Engineering Dept would be likely to be moved to the new development. He also suggested that the Student Health Centre may find a new larger home on Pearse Street along with expanded créche facilities.

While this project has yet to gain planning permissio it is hoped that with the help of the current residents of Pearse Street that its rejuvenation can go ahead as planned.

An Post Site In terms of floor space, by far the biggest development on the books of the college is that planned for the An Post site, currently a temporary carpark.

The college plans to build a twelve storey development on this site in partnership with a private development firm.

The plans are for a 40,000sq metre building with 23,00sq metres being occupied by the college with the remaining being held by the developer for something in the region of

fifteen years. After this, ownership would rever to to the college. This would benefit the college in the long run and save money in the initial capital cost.

The most likely use for such a building would be to house the Biosciences departments with a special emphasis on disease research. It is hoped to set up a multi-discipliniary research centre which would target certain diseases as opposed to certain subject areas.

‘Would You Like Fries With That?’

Gearoid O’ Rourke interviews internationally renowned academic George Ritzer, known to many as the father of MacDonaldisation theory.

For most of us, the macabre public fascination with McDonalds began with Morgan Spurlock and his media savvy criticism of the food giant.

However long before this wave of sensationalism there was one man who effectively created the genre of McDonalds bashing.

The man of course is Professor George Ritzer and courtesy of the Phil he visited Trinity College recently. Trinity News was on hand to conduct an exclusive interview.

We began at the beginning, and asked Prof Ritzer where the genesis of his ideas lay. He replied that his study of what he came to call McDonaldisation was an academic focus “shaped very much by the era I grew up in”. Ritzer grew up in pre-McDonalds New York, a city he considers “the most European of American cities”. He saw the opening of the first McDonalds and witnessed its rapid spread

throughout the whole of the United States.

He was, he said, “deeply aware of the changes it was affecting upon society”.

This combined with his early interest in the work of rationalists such as Max Weber to direct him to the study of McDonaldisation.

For those of you who are not committed sociologists (shame!) or have not felt the joy of the first year BESS ‘Torode experience’ it might be appropriate to look briefly at what McDonaldisation is.

Essentially it is a general homogenisation of society caused by an increasing drive to efficiency. This may seem like a

mouthful but it’s a very practical concept. It can be seen in the way most big cities are starting to look the same; with the same shops and fast food chains.

McDonaldisation is the effect caused when rationalisation causes irrational effects.

One phrase says more about the origins of McDonaldisation than any other; namely ‘Americanisation’.

Ritzer agrees that the ideas of Americanisation and McDonaldisation, are both “elements of globalisation”, and in a sense, interchangeable.

The concept of McDonalds with its emphasis on efficiency and rationality is deeply rooted in the American psyche. To

Ritzer the “culture of efficiency and the ideal of mass production made America an ideal birthplace for McDonaldiastion, moreso than anywhere else in the world.”

However while McDonaldisation is seen as originating in America it is now global. With this in mind I questioned Professor Ritzer as to the extent to which he believed McDonaldisation had affected Ireland. This being his first visit to Ireland, and a brief one at that, he was unwilling to be drawn too much on the topic.

However he was willing to admit that Ireland had a “globalised look and feel to it” and that Dublin was “showing signs of becoming like most of the other major world capitals, in the way it looked, in its hig h street stores and its commercial centre”. When presented with the suggestion that Ireland was becoming closer to Boston than Berlin, Ritzer agreed that Ireland seemed much less European in aspect than he would have thought, but that “Europe was gradually drifting towards an almost more American outlook as a whole….and (that) Ireland was following this trend”.

When globalisation is referred to as a movement it is

ironic that one of the first associations that springs to mind is the anti-globalisation movement. This is especially true with its sometime violent protests. I asked Professor Ritzer if he felt his ideas had somehow been hijacked by an extremist element? “I wouldn’t put it like that exactly” he replied with a slight grimace.

He continued to explain that “when you put an idea out

there, out into the world you really have very little control over it. Sure, you can say the context you’ve devised it for but many people are more than willing to use it for their own devices.”

To illustrate his point he told a story of a website he had come across which was

using his theories to somehow justify a white supremicist movement in the US. This he said was a “prime example of how ideas can be manipulated once in the public arena.”

However he was at pains to stress that it was not only the “extremist” element that had ‘hijacked his ideas but also the so called conservative middleground of “big business and governments” which were guilty of this.

Finally as the hubbub of voices from the Phil’s conversation room grew audibly louder in anticipation of Prof Ritzer’s arrival, I asked what would prove to be my final question; “And what does the future hold- a move away form McDonaldisation theory perhaps?”

Prof Ritzer responded that he is indeed moving slightly away from McDonaldisation and wants to now look at the phenomenon of outsourcing. He is, he explained, working on a new book very much in its embryonic stages in which he examines the degree to which people are more and more outsourcing previously personal areas of their lives.

He used the example of a wedding to illustrate this.

“Think” he said “ of a wedding

a few generations ago. It would have been planned and arranged by the families involved and was in essence a family event” Nowadays he points out the functions in a wedding are out-

sourced; to wedding planners, caterers, florists etc. Ritzers’ thesis is that through this outsourcing our lives are becoming empty shells. This is an interesting theory and, as with much of Ritzers work, draws on the work of classical sociologists. It remains to be seen whether it will have the same impact as McDonaldisation but in blurring the lines between sociology and economics it may force those subject areas to re-examine where the boundary between them really lies.

s y, y s al g y. n -

6

Tuesday November 15th, 2005

National News Editor: Anne-Marie Ryan

Trinity News

National News News in Brief Students urged to get registered Following the recent publication of a report by the Democracy Commission the Union of Students Ireland (USI) has begun a campaign urging students to register to vote in time for the next election.

The report, entitled ‘Engaging Citizens’, dealt with the disillusionment of young people with politics and the obstacles which prevent them from participating fully in democracy.

The USI will be encouraging all students to check that they are on the draft register of electors. If not, students can apply to be put on the supplemental register, up until 15 days before an election is held.

The Democracy Commission report highlighted the fact that young people do not vote because of the convoluted registra-

tion procedure, whereby voters are not registered automatically when they turn 18.

According to USI Deputy President and Campaigns Officer Ruth Ní Éidhin, the USI will also be campaigning for changes to electoral procedures to enable more young people to participate in the democratic process.

“Online registration, Saturday voting and two-day voting are among a number of aspects of the process the union will be campaigning on over the coming months” she said.

In preparation for the general election, expected to take place next year, the USI are planning a campaign to inform students on the positions of the various parties on issues that affect them.

UCD grant Opus Dei lecturer retirement A radiography lecturer in UCD who took voluntary leave in April 2004 following allegations that she pressurised students into attending events held by the religious movement Opus Dei has been granted retirement by the university’s Governing Authority.

According to a report in the UCD Observer the lecturer involved was allowed to retire without an investigation taking place into the allegations made against her.

It has been alleged that the lecturer, a member of the Opus Dei movement told radiography

students that if they did not attend an event held by the controversial organisation they would fail their course.

At a meeting of the Governing Authority, members of the UCD Students’ Union refused to approve the document circulated listing members of staff due to retire, although the document was eventually passed by majority consensus.

The lecturer in question is said to have received a five-figure retirement settlement from UCD.

Tralee students on alert after sexual assaults The Students’ Union of the Institute of Technology Tralee (ITT) has warned students not to walk home alone at night following a spate of sexual assaults, some of which took place in the vicinity of the ITT campus. Four sexual assaults have taken place since June of this year in Tralee, the most

recent taking place on 19th October, when an alleged double assault on a woman took place at housing estate near the college.

Gardaí have stated however that there is no reason to suspect a link between the latest attack and previous assaults.

Irish Universities Association promise radical reform In a recent report the Irish Universities Association (IUA) have outlined plans for reform of their undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and renewed demands for increased government funding at third level. The report, entitled ‘Securing Competitive Advantage for the 21st Century’ outlines what needs to be done to reform the third-level sector and create a ‘fourth-level’ sector in Ireland. Under a reformed thirdlevel system, undergraduates would be able to move between

universities and institutes of technology, pursuing flexible degree programmes which allow subjects and disciplines to be combined.

The traditional research-based PhD programme is to become more structured, with the first year being dominated by taught courses organised on a trans-institutional basis. The plan estimates the direct investment required to be in region of €104m annually in recurrent expenditure, and €408m in capital expenditure for the period 20062013.

Compiled by Anne-Marie Ryan

USI’s constitutional changes to be hotly debated in Trinity removal of the position of Deputy President/Campaigns Officer from the Officer Board. The Finance Committee is also being reformed to include more external members in the hope that this will assist in reducing the financial losses incurred by the USI in recent times.

The removal and amendment of a number of positions on the USI Officer Board is aimed at resolving the current situation whereby many of these positions are left vacant. There are currently five vacant positions on the board: Equality Officer, Southern Area Campaigns Officer, Disability Rights Officer, Environmental

Officer and Postgraduate Officer. It is thought that with the removal of this position Education and Welfare officers will direct their own campaigns.

The removal of the position of Deputy President/Campaigns Officer comes in spite of an increase last year of €5 in the USI affiliation fee paid by students annually.

The proposed amendments are also aimed at steering the focus of the Union towards issues which directly affect students.

Motions calling for the Union to campaign on external issues such as the war in Iraq or bin charges for

instance, will require a two-thirds majority at council in order to be passed.

Proposed amendments to the conThe CRG group were instructed to stitution of the Union of Students examine constitutional reviews that Ireland (USI) are set to be hotly had previously taken place, and debated at a Special Congress due invite submissions. TCDSU presito take place in Trinity College on dent John Mannion was on the 26th November. Delegates from eight-person review group, repreeleven Students’ Unions around the senting colleges with over ten votes country will meet in Goldsmith at USI Council.

Hall to debate the proposals put Ahead of the Special forward by the Constitutional Congress, President of the Review Group (CRG), which was Students’ Union in UCC Pádraig established by a meeting of the USI Mac Amhlaoibh told Trinity News National Council last August. that UCC are broadly in favour of One of the most conalmost all the changes, but have tentious issues is the proposed some problems with the new officer board.

“We are unhappy at the make-up of the officer board. The National Union should look forward to the national institutions - Reduce the number of National Council representatives on the Finance Committee, while increasing the number of that can make a difference, rather external members than backwards to the students in - Finance Committee to meet more often the various regions to justify USI's - Remove a number of the positions on the Officer Board of the USI namely the positions of Deputy existence”, he said.

President/Campaigns Officer; Equality Officer; Environmental Awareness Officer.

According to USI - A number of Officer positions are to be amended: the status of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights officer from a full-time officer of the union to that of part-time officer; the ‘Disability Rights Officer’ is to be renamed as the ‘Officer for Students with Disabilities’; the position of Area Campaigns Officer renamed as Area Officer.

- Remove the requirement that full-time officers are to be paid according to wage increases agreed nationally by the social partners and government of the day.

- National and International Affairs motions, if deemed by the Steering Council not to directly affect members, will require a two-thirds majority of votes in order to be passed.

Anne-Marie Ryan

USI Constitutional Amendments: the main points

Education Officer and former Education Officer for TCDSU Daithí Mac Síthigh the major points of contention thus far have been the removal of the office of Deputy President and the composition of the finance committee but says he “honestly can’t predict” what the major points for discussion will be at the congress.

Three USI constitutional reviews have taken place over the past six years. At the USI Congress in Spring 2005 the proposed constitutional amendment document known as CA-1 was not passed at Congress, although 65% voted in favour of it. It is thought that the main reason for objection was a lack of consultation on the proposals.

Repeat exams may go as colleges adopt modularisation Repeat exams may no longer be available in DCU William Aherne The future of supplemental exams and the role they play has been called into question by some of the country’s largest academic institutions. Under a set of proposed new plans the opportunity of repeating a failed end of year annual exam in some colleges could be brought to an end.

According to a recent report in the Sunday Independent certain colleges which have introduced modularisation, such as Dublin City University (DCU) and NUI Galway are questioning the effectiveness of repeat exams.

The changes, brought about by new modularised or semesterised academic programmes, would lead to the end of sitting supplemental exams in September. This new system would

compel students who don’t meet the required grade in the annual exams to carry their failed exam forward with them into the following year.

Alternatively they could up their work load by imposing on them an assignment or course project to build up their grade.

However positive features of a modularised academic program for students will include greater flexibility in deciding which courses and subjects to choice.

Earlier this week VicePresident and Registrar for DCU, Prof Maria Slowey, told Trinity News how DCU is currently looking at how assessment systems best match the learning objectives of programmes. “However this is in the broader context of Phase two Modularisation and a comprehensive Learning Innovation Strategy-

which will be launched next month”, she said. Nevertheless Prof Slowey at DCU did note that; “There are currently no specific proposals relating to a change of policy concerning resits and the like at DCU.” This could be seen as an indication that the Governments new Strategic Innovation Fund is working. The primary aim of this fund, which was the initiative of an OECD report, was to reward colleges with substantial funds by delivering on modernisation or semesterisation. In the case of DCU it is a program of modularisation and a comprehensive Learning Innovation Strategy.

UCD also has a similar initiative called the UCD Horizons Programme, but this plan has been rejected by students on the grounds that they have had very little input

into the decision making process.

In response the Students’ Union in UCD has begun petitions against modularization, demanding for greater consultation about what they want from their education. A final decision on the issue is not due to be reached until the end of November.

Both Trinity College and UCD have indicated that they have no plans in the interim period of time in which to change their structures by removing supplemental exams. However sources at the Dublin Institute of Technology revealed that there is the possibility of removing supplemental exams in the near future.

In a statement Union of Students in Ireland (USI) President Tony McDonnell broadly opposed ending repeat exams if it was to increase the student workload.

“The USI would oppose the removal of supplemental exams except if there was an assurance that the substitute for them would not leave the students overstretched”, he said.

He also went on to say that “the idea of substituting the supplemental exams with some kind of course work would be a welcome addition, however only if the work load was not greater then what would be expected under the supplemental exams.”

The end result of this change in structures will eventually produce an academic system that is similar if not on a par with the United States model of semesters and point average grading systems.

The survey also contradicts the perception that students cannot be trusted with credit: only one in five student customers have a credit card, or are brave enough to trust themselves with plastic money when cash runs out at half 12 on a night out! Over two thirds of these students clear their credit card bill every month and a further 25% do it on a regular basis. Usage is also very low according to the report with 35% rarely using it (too terrified at the prospect of spending money that is not real!). This is directly in contrast with non-stu-

dent credit card customers (or real people if you will) with only 50% clearing their balance monthly.

Students are keeping their borrrowings in check also, with the average student loan a mere €1589. The main reasons for the loans are very sensible and necessary including course fees (37%), travel (36%), living expenses (36%) and course materials (16%).

But then again, who is likely to tell their bank if they needed a loan to go on the beer after exams. Bank of Ireland’s own customer statistics support these findings and show

that the average loan term is just 21 months.

Although 62% of students state a net monthly average income of €536, they are not as independent as they would like to think they are - nine in ten student customers have a parental indemnity in place.

The research also stated that customer satisfaction is extremely high among third level student customers with 82% satisfied with their financial institutions. This comes as no surprise to most as students with Bank of

Ireland can avail of a nine month interest-free grant, advance overdraft and travel loan. Students are also exempt from transaction charges and are offered a variety of discounts and offers when they open their account.

Easy to see why students are a such satisfied bunch.

Survey debunks student lending myth?

Jenny Gallagher Recent research conducted on behalf of Bank of Ireland has challenged the common perception that third level students are unreliable when it comes to managing their finances. In fact, the findings indicate that students are the best performing group when it comes to managing their money and borrowings.

Marketing Manager of Personal Banking in Bank of Ireland, Patrick Farrell was not surprised at the results of the survey.,

“The reality is that students are exceptionally good at managing their debt and are very financially savvy”, he said. He believes the findings illustrate the mature attitude adopted by third level students that is responsible for debunking the myth that students are careless bankers.

The research covered a variety of banking areas from credit cards to loans. Perhaps the most suprising finding is that 54% of students have a savings account into which they deposit money weekly(18%), monthly (28%) or at

various intervals (and no, the account is not otherwise known as the Pav). Nine out of ten students believe it is important to save for the future.

According to the research 65% of students budget their expenses. This probably reflects the fact that rather than thinking of the financial benefits, the average student budgets the weekly amount of money from the parental units/part-time job in order to facilitate their social life, often to the detriment of their food and hygiene needs.

International Review Editor: Doaa Baker

Tuesday November 15th, 2005

7

Trinity News

INTERNATIONAL REVIEW Boycott Israel’s Apartheid Hugh Harkin visited Israel-Palestine in 2003 as an unsuspecting tourist. As One World’s annual Palestine Awareness Week comes around again, Hugh reflects on how his eyes were opened to the “new apartheid”: It is probably fair to assume that this is not the first article you have ever read about Israel and Palestine. More likely, you’re sick to death of them. Not to mention the endless news bulletins, the magazine pieces, the documentaries, every one of them contradicting the other, and leaving you more in the dark just when you thought you had it figured out.

But you labour on, hoping that the next article might just be the one that enlightens, that gives you that definitive grasp on what the hell is going on over there.

It was in much this frame of mind two years ago that I found myself in Jerusalem. I had spent two weeks in Egypt and had a few days to kill before returning home.

Truth be told, I probably wasn’t all that interested in the politics. I was a student on holidays, and these people’s problems would provide a backdrop to my adventures, nothing more.

Things turned out a little differently, however. Not that I saw any conflict – no bombs, no killings, no drama. I was just, a little.. unnerved. Disturbed even.

I walked up Jaffa Road in West Jerusalem with an Israeli friend, past the sites of three suicidebombings – including one restaurant that had been bombed twice.

What could drive a person to do this? Then I went into the West Bank. I saw my first “settlements”. From a rooftop in Bethlehem I did a 360 and saw them on every hill surrounding the Palestinian city. Ever-expanding fortress-towns for Jews only.

Bethlehem in the middle, with no place to go. I saw the Wall run right through the centre of a Palestinian town. Inexplicably.

Separating Palestinians from Palestinians.

Jericho was eerie too. The oldest city in the world, but a ghost town, which had not seen a tourist in months. People were begging in the streets – an exceptional

sight in Palestinian society. When I left the city through the checkpoint the Israeli soldier – looking younger than myself – roared at me, not understanding how I’d got in. Turns out I had been let in by accident by a rookie soldier – nothing: not resident, visitor nor goods – had been allowed in or out of Jericho in months. Yet Jericho was nowhere near Israel – why was a whole city being imprisoned like this?

I talked to an American girl who had been to Gaza and had stayed in Palestinian houses that

“Jericho was eerie too. The oldest city in the world, but a ghost town, which had not seen a tourist in months” the Israeli army wanted to demolish. Israeli courts have made it pretty much legal for its army to demolish a home once it belongs to a Palestinian. But these people wouldn’t leave, and they thought they were safe with a Westerner in their house. No matter: the army took pot-shots through the kitchen window while the family and their guest sat down to dinner.

Eventually, I suppose, you leave.

By the time I left IsraelPalestine, however, I was mostly just disturbed by what I had witnessed. It was all whirling around in my head but I could come to no conclusions. But I was no longer apathetic, I was determined somehow to explain what I had seen.

So I started reading. Over the next year I read tens of books and hundreds and hundreds of articles: from newspapers, magazines and websites, trying to get to grips with the “whys”, with the history.

I read Israelis, Palestinians, politicians, academics and anyone anywhere who had an opinion on the causes of this conflict.

A pattern soon began to emerge. One group spoke of an Israel which had always tried to live at peace with its neighbours, which had only waged wars of defence; an Israel currently fighting a war for its very existence against terrorists without rationale.

The other group, many of them Israelis, spoke of Israel as the product of a colonial movement which, simply, had never stopped colonising. Like any colonial movement, to achieve and maintain control over a land and resources in which other people live, it must in turn control these people and suppress their aspirations.

The attitude of these various commentators to the present was what sealed it for me. There was no way I could definitively know the truth or otherwise of the history or the high politics. But I had seen with my own eyes the present situation on the ground. This was something I could claim to know.

So when commentator A claimed that the Wall was purely a security measure, I baulked at this, as it didn’t square with what I had seen. I was more inclined to run with commentator B who said it was about drawing borders and annexing as much land and resources to the Israeli side. Thus when commenator A wrote in another breath that the Palestinians had spurned a “generous offer” by Israel in 2000, I could not trust this interpretation. I turned to commenator B, who explained how Israel actually offered little more autonomy than that of the South African bantustans during the apartheid era.

The successful struggle of black South Africans, supported as it was by global solidarity, is the inspiration for the worldwide campaign to boycott Israel. At a conference in London a few weeks ago, Ronnie Kasrils, a white Jewish South African who had fought apartheid for decades and is currently South African Minister for Intelligence, addressed the issue of associating Israel’s occupation with apartheid: “Can it be compared to apartheid? Well no

actually. It’s far worse. It’s far, far worse.”

The creation in the nineties of the Palestinian Authority (P.A.), with its trappings of statehood, plays into the persuasive Israeli illusion that this is simply a territorial dispute between two nations, side by side, with two equal governments who are working it out.

But the P.A. are powerless, and the reality is that Israel has full and complete control over the entire biblical land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan river.

On this land there now lives an equal number of Palestinian Arabs

and Israeli Jews. Yet Palestinians can only live on 15% of it, the rest is “state land”, for Jews only.

Palestinian Arabs in Israel, who make up 20% of the population, are confined to only 7% of the land. They cannot live in many Jewish areas. And in the West Bank and Gaza, an entire society is held in captivity by Israeli boysoldiers so that settlers can exercise their biblical right to land that belongs to someone else. This is nothing other than oppression with racial justification. This is apartheid.

So as you see I have kind of come down on one side. But this

is not an “anti-Israeli” side. Many of the most inspiring “proPalestinian” activists are Israeli: those who protest arm-in-arm with Palestinians against the Wall, the journalists who expose government and military skullduggery, and the academics who urge Israeli society to look at itself.

The most prominent of these last, Haifa University professor Ilan Pappe, will speak in Trinity on Thursday 24th. He, like many other Israelis, is screaming “boycott us!”

The international community, including the EU, continues to treat Israel as if it’s just a normal

state. We need to send the message that it is not. As Ronnie Kasrils put it: “In the 21st century Israel is an unjust society and a most vicious occupation. It needs to be turned into the pariah state that apartheid was in the 20th century.” There’s one very simple way for each of us to contribute to this.

When you next visit Tesco to buy your fruit and veg, check the label for ‘country of origin’. If it’s from Israel, be an ethical consumer – and don’t buy it.

Avian Flu Looms Mob Rule in Paris Eleanor Kelly Mathieu Kassovitz’s award winning 1995 film ‘La Haine’ (Hate) tells the story of three immigrant Parisian teenagers involved in riots sparked by the death of one their friends at the hands of the police.

‘La Haine’ begins with the narrator describing the story of a man who falls from a skyscraper and as he passes each floor he reassures himself, jusqu’ici tout va bien, jusqu’ici tout va bien, or so far so good. I wonder did Jacques Chirac feel much like that man this year as he tumbled downwards past the disastrous no vote in May’s referendum on the European constitution and the rejection of France’s bid for the 2012 Olympics. However in La Haine the narrator tells us, it’s not the fall that counts it’s how you land. This week, Chirac, Sarkozy and the very foundation of the French Republic came crashing down. If it’s the landing that counts, then it seems the future is not bright for l’hexagone.

The mob is nothing new in Paris. Indeed for centuries the French have cherished the idea of themselves as revolutionaries.

True, the Paris riots of today might not be on the lofty political platform of centuries past. However it is the politics of centuries past that has lead to this situation. The motto of the revolution ‘one state, one nation, one language’ is one that still holds sway in France today. Clearly immigration is nothing new in France, a land of immigrants; however it has never formed part of the national discourse. Whereas America is typified as a melting pot of multiple cultures and sub cultures, French immigration policies since the Third Republic have insisted on assimilation in the name of a single nation.

To achieve French identity immigrants must linguistically

A bus lies burnt out following a night of rioting on the Parisian streets and culturally assimilate, by consequence renouncing their own distinct identities. Such assimilation then is in fact politically sanctioned intolerance. Despite paying this price, many of these young second generation immigrants, continue to be singled out. As a result they find they are for example accepted as neither French nor Algerian.

Officially the law sees no difference between Abdul and Francois.

However many Arabs and Africans complain that they are continuously subject to arbitrary identity checks. Their crime? Une sale gueule, or a dirty mug.

Two years ago I worked as an English language assistant in an area in France not unlike those in question now. It was in the department of the Marne, just beside Paris and the school was classed as ZEP, a zone d’education prioritaire. My colleagues affec-

tionately called it ‘le ghetto’. Giant multi-storey apartment blocks, or HLM’s, surrounded the school. As a ZEP school, this classification was supposed to ensure more funding, specialised teachers, smaller classes and other endeavours to benefit a school in a socially disadvantaged area. However it also acted as a beacon, ensuring parents avoided sending their children there if all possible. As a result the school comprised mostly of immigrant children, and poorer French, all corralled together, with little or no integration into the wider community.

Absenteeism, total parental disinterest, constant class disruption, violence towards teachers and drug abuse were every day occurrences. I should add that the school was a college, students mostly ranged from twelve to fifteen years. Our aim as teachers was that they might continue on

and sit the Bac, the French equivalent of the Leaving Cert. Few did.

By the year’s end despite having to restrain my temper and my tears on numerous occasions, what I mostly felt was total despair and helplessness for the plight of these children.

My ZEP school is not alone. It is a microcosm of what is at work in France at large.

Officially however such distinctions do not exist. Officially there are no ethnic differences in France.

There are only French citizens.

There are equal rights and equal opportunities. There is liberty, equality, fraternity. Tell that to the rioters, I’m sure Jean Marie le Pen is listening.

The present type of avian flu being hailed as the next pandemic is by no means new.

H5N1 (so called due to the types of Hemaglutinin (H) and Neuraminidase (N) receptors on its surface that allow the virus entry into cells) was first isolated in 1996 in China.

Since then the strand of influenza has been found in at least 15 countries, yet only Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia have had human fatalities.

H5N1 is a type of influenza virus that can be present in the digestive system of wild birds. These birds are rarely affected and normally serve only as carriers of the disease. The virus is however highly pathogenic to domesticated fowl and has decimated many flocks throughout Asia.

More and more countries are being affected along the migratory path of infected birds.

H5N1 is primarily a virus that affects birds but through close contact with infected fowl, it is transmissible to humans. Poultry groups are eager to inform people that there is no danger from eating cooked chicken as the virus is killed at temperatures over 70oC. Where a human has contracted the virus the outlook is bleak. Mortality rates are above 50%, heightened due to the alien nature of the virus. So far, the virus has claimed the lives of 62 people.

Human influenza viruses can be transmitted through the air in coughs or sneezes. This is what makes them so contagious and prevalent. Luckily, H5N1 cannot. At least not yet. Viruses have a tendency to mutate. Small changes (antigenic drift) or major alterations (antigenic shift) often occur and can make the virus transmissible in dif-

ferent ways. Should H5N1 alter in structure or swap material with a human virus it has the potential to become infectious through the air which could result in a global pandemic.

There is at present no vaccine for the virus but many countries have showed positive results from initial trials. There are no drugs that are effective against viruses. The only way to completely remove a virus is to endogenously make antibodies against it. Some drugs can slow down the virus and serve as a palliative but cannot cure.

of human pandemic influenza”.

The only way we can protect ourselves is to be prepared.

Unfortunately, due to a lack of knowledge and scaremongering many of the plans drawn up by countries are very ambitious and are more of a knee-jerk reaction than a long term anti-pandemic strategy.

Nonetheless many countries have been formulating plans. The UK has begun stockpiling anti-viral drugs and is inviting companies to tender for the contract to produce a vaccine should a pandemic

“Unfortunately, due to a lack of knowledge and scaremongering many of the plans drawn up by countries are very ambitious and are more of a knee-jerk reaction than a long term anti-pandemic strategy” Some experts believe that the 1918 “Spanish Flu” that killed 40 million people was a mutation form of avian flu. This, if true would have startling consequences. It would indicate a precedence of an avian flu pandemic.

The World Health Organisation has been warning of the dangers of the virus since it was discovered but the world has not been listening.

And now the message coming from the chairman of the WHO is as bold as it is lucid: “It is only a matter of time before an avian flu virus - most likely H5N1 - acquires the ability to be transmitted from human to human, sparking the outbreak

occur. Ireland has no similar plan. Or any plan for that matter. The only protection we as a people have is an outdated “Influenza Preparedness Plan” that doesn’t speak adequately of the dangers of avian flu.

It is clear that an influenza pandemic is inevitable; it is merely the timescale that is uncertain. The number of casualties will depend on the preparations that go in to preventing mass scale infection. Plans need to be drawn up, drugs need to be stockpiled. In the face of a pandemic that has the possibility to kill millions worldwide, we cannot afford to be unprepared.

Tuesday November 15th 2005

Trinity News

FEATURES

Is the Catholic Church ignoring the AIDS epidemic?

By promoting abstinence rather than condoms, is the Catholic Church turning a blind eye to the actualtualities of the devastation that AIDS is causing in Africa? Nicolas Kelly thinks so...

When Pope John Paul II died in April, the media had plenty of good deeds from which to draw eulogy material and spin his legacy. Along with the grand—he killed communism!—came the humble. He built bridges to those of other faiths and gracefully came to terms with the Church’s past missteps. As Christopher Hitchens (never one for real-time hagiography) lists: “He apologized to the Jewish people for the Vatican's glacial coldness during the Final Solution, and for historic filiations between the church and anti-Semitism. He apologized to the Eastern Orthodox Christians, and to the Muslims, for the appalling damage done to civilization by papal advocacy of the Crusades, and by forced conversion and massacre in the Balkans during the church's open alliance with fascism during World War II. He apologized to the world of science and reason by admitting that Galileo should not have been condemned by the Inquisition. These are not small climb-downs, and they do not apply justto the past.

They are and were admissions that the Roman Catholic Church has been responsible for the retarding of human development on a colossal scale.”

Unfortunately, Karol Wojtyla also left in place plenty

of policies for which some future pope will get credit for apologising for. Chief among them is the church’s refusal to honestly confront the greatest humanitarian issue of our time, the AIDS crisis in Africa, a roaring wave of infection and death that shows no sign of crashing. Everyone is tired of hearing the drone of these depressing statistics, but they still must be repeated. Sub-Saharan Africa has 10% of the world’s population but 60% of the AIDSinfected population, about 25 million people. 2 million people there died from AIDS in 2004, 3 million were newly infected.

On a continent that has been stricken by more than 20 major civil wars since 1960, the

“The hypocrisy of Catholics in the developed world is unacceptable...”

Catholic Church holds a unique position as a viable, effective social organization. According the Statistical Yearbook of the Church there are about 135 million Catholics in Africa, almost 17% of the population. As the fastest growing region in the Catholic world, it seemed possi-

ble that an African cardinal might ascend to the papacy. That wouldn’t have made any difference when it comes to saving lives, not just souls.

The hard-line is still that, as Congo’s Archbishop Dominique Bulamatari said, “Using condoms as a means of preventing AIDS can only lead to sexual promiscuity.” That “only” is a bit absurd; there’s pretty good evidence that condoms can lead to other things, such as not giving AIDS to your wife. Two years ago the senior cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo caused a stir when he was interviewed for the BBC documentary “Sex and the Holy City” and suggested that condoms are HIV permeable. On that same documentary a health worker complained that, “some priests have even been saying that condoms are laced with HIV/AIDS.” To be fair, most church authorities aren’t so criminally incorrect. In the face of so much suffering, dissent is warping the two-dimensional icon of onehump, one-baby dogma.

Cameroon’s cardinal is allowing condoms as an AIDS prevention measure, as long as the couple is married. In a personal rather than official capacity, the chair of the Pontical Council for Health, said he supports condom use when

Students helping students... the Peer Support Network Make a difference this year Support your peers!

This society is new to Trinity but the Network itself has been up and running for the past five years. The PSN so far has consisted of voluntary listening support offered

by Trinity students. These students are dedicated to providing support for all students who have issues they wish to discuss confidentially with a peer. All training and society activities are monitored by the Trinity Student Counselling Service.

Now that the PSN is an official Society, they are looking to expand their scope.

All students can join the PSN (free of charge!) to get involved with all projects the PSN is now running (Bear in

mind that being a member of the PSN doesn’t mean you’re automatically a Trained Peer Supporter! You have to complete the 30 hour training course to be a fully trained

“The volunteers are dedicated to providing support for students who wish to talk confidentially with a peer...”

9

social events.

PSN are involved with the following activities; The Aspergers Syndrome Project, Group Meetings, short courses in listening skills, Mental Health week, Health week, Shag week, and numerous other events throughout the college year.

For all information and to get involved with any of these projects and to join the PSN, check out our website at http://www.tcd.ie/Student/peer _support/index.php or email peer@tcd.ie

Peer Supporter). The PSN also hosts a number of events throughout the year including the Annual Table Quiz/Comedy night, frequent coffee mornings, and other

Peer Support Network volunteers at Freshers’ Week last year

abstinence is impossible. It some ways, this is almost more depressing because either a) we will have to witness a tortuous slow-motion crawl towards the right thing as 2 million people die every year or b) this glimmer of progress will be snuffed out, and 2 million people will keep dying every year.

The Church is not actively infecting people with HIV (unless they are making those condoms the priests were talking about), and so cannot be blamed for the situation. They are ignoring and impeding the way to make it better, but they have their own reasons to do so.

What I find unacceptable is the hypocrisy of us Catholics in the developed world. According to UNAIDS, the average man in sub-Saharan African has access to three condoms a year. For us it is just a walk down the block. Of course we use condoms! Nobody in their right mind wants a lifetime itch, let alone a death sentence. Of course we use birth control! I’m not ready to be a father. But then we go to church, or even just consider ourselves Catholic. Hey, it’s not one of the biggies, like ‘Thou shalt not kill’.

Well, if it’s big enough that people are getting killed rather than using one, then I cannot be a part of that system.

AIDS orphans left at a clinic in Botswana. The epidemic is devastating the continent

10

Tuesday November 15th, 2005

Cinema Editors: Rebecca Jackson & Alex Christie-Miller

Trinity News

FILM

Harry Potter and the Celebrity Spotter The cast list for the new Harry Potter movie reads like a Bafta Awards ceremony. Rebecca Jackson asks why stars are so addicted to the cameo role.

Nothing seems to get the cameo roles flowing quite like a Harry Potter film. Squiggly scar and starring role aside, Daniel Radcliffe will be one of the lesser known faces in The Goblet of Fire. One almost doesn’t know where to begin when Emma Thompson, Gary Oldman, Ralph Fiennes, David Thewlis, Kate Winslet, Rosamund Pike, Miranda Richardson, Timothy Spall, Alan Rickman, (deep breath) Maggie Smith, Micheal Gambon and Robbie Coltrane are all hamming it up at Hogwarts. It seems hardly possible that they didn’t manage to sneak in Michael Caine, the ubiquitous king of the cameo role.

Caine’s career is an excellent place to begin when attempting to explain the lure of the ‘small but pivotal’ character. For a film star on the make a cameo role is actually a bit rubbish as you are unlikely to make

“The marvellous thing about a cameo role is that if your star is bright enough to start with, it is unlikely to get tarnished even if the movie is a straight to DVD dud.” much of an impact or much money.

It’s a good idea then to feature brilliantly in a couple of critically acclaimed little numbers first (Alfie, Get Carter, The Italian Job…) before downsizing to gay stylists in Miss Congeniality, butlers in Batman etc.

The

really marvellous thing about a cameo role is that if your star is bright enough to start with, it is unlikely to get tarnished even if the movie is a straight to

DVD dud. In fact much of what Caine appears in is average to shocking. Everyone expects you to get it wrong occasionally but Sir Micheal bafflingly seems to apply Jack Welsh’s 20 – 70 -10 ratio to his role portfolio – 10% brilliant, 70% mediocre, 20% absolute tosh.

Only the special few can hang on to their thespian credibility with an average like this, though I could be persuaded that the don of British drama finally lost his dignity down Sandra Bullock’s push-up bra.

Often cameo roles such as David Beckham’s in Goal are simply the celebrity, actor or otherwise, briefly appearing on screen as themselves. Featuring as oneself is particularly flattering, doesn’t require any acting ability (though I

hear sweet David has been taking elocution lessons), and best of all absolutely no danger of not being recognised. The horrors the Hogwarts posse might have to face being rendered anonymous by a face full of

enough to make anyone join Victoria Beckham on the red carpet in Zoolander. Mention of the fabulous Zoolander and a cameo quandary rears its head - does Billy Zane still count as a cameo role if no-one remembers why he is famous any more?

If the roles dry up for Billy in the future he should try

directing. In the inexplicable event that there seems to be a lack of interest in creating a cameo for you, there is always

magical make-up are

the option of filming yourself. The role of the cult director cameo was started by Alfred Hitchcock who begun his trademark appearances in 1926. Hitchcock originally appeared in The Lodger to fill in for a missing body and sensibly opts to keep a low profile on screen, mostly appearing early so audiences did not become distracted by playing ‘where’s Alfred’. Not so Quentin Tarantino; the coolest video nerd in the world decided to feature himself for a good ten minutes in Pulp Fiction, he also crops in his mate Roberto Rodriguez’s

“Tarantino’s acting is hardly spell-binding but it is such fun to spot his geeky little face.”

Tarantino’s acting is hardly spellbinding but it is such fun to spot his geeky little face.

Which brings us to the reason cameos are such big business; it’s all about the joy of celebrity spotting.

Just as seeing Kerry McFadden at your local Argos lends a small frission to buying a toaster, spotting famous faces in incongruous roles or situations is equally fun.

Jim from Neighbours turning up in the OC. Loved it? Of course you did. Just wait till you see Franz Ferdinand play Hogwarts.

dusty pieces ‘From Dusk til Dawn’ and ‘Desperado’.

Sex lives and King Colin the Man videotape Orlando Bridgeman

Lauren Park and Philomena Schurer compile a chick flick guide for those long, lonely, winter nights...

‘Chick flicks’ are the ultimate cliché. Who wants to be the kind of girl who spends her Friday night with a jumbo-sized bag of Minstrels, Ben and Jerry’s ‘Minter Wonderland’ and a box of tissues for company? If you are that kind of girl, we pass no judgement (okay, maybe we do) but if you want an alternative guide to ‘chick flicks’, read on.

Recently broken up with your boyfriend? If you just need a good cry watch Tom Hanks in ‘Philadelphia’. You’ll be comforted by the fact that things could be a lot worse. If you’ve already gotten over the sobbing stage and are just downright bitter, ‘Kill Bill 2’ will teach you the five point heart exploding technique, which you can use on him just as he’s about to score a slutty little fresher at The Palace.

champagne and strawberries.

However, a word of warning. DO NOT succumb to the appeal of the Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson sex tape, as it will only result in

Are you edgy and want a chick flick that breaks the mould? ‘The Rules of Attraction’ will glue your eyes to the screen.

Dawson (of said Creek fame) goes bad and students are on a fuelled, orgasmic rampage.

“NEVER rent out drug If only Trinity were this fun.

‘Bridget Jones’ on your And if you are just a litown. You will be found tle bit weird? Try ‘Quills’; if the de Sade breathing down dead from desperation, Marquis Kate Winslets neck gets you hot covered in Dunnes and bothered, we strongly recomStores five euro wine, mend therapy. It’s free and confiwearing nothing but a dential. Feeling ugly? Rent ‘My pair of granny knick- Fair Lady’, ‘Clueless’ and ‘She’s All That’. Forgetting the minor ers...” detail that these beautiful actresses portraying the ugly ducklings your boyfriend feeling massively are just made to look so by glassinferior and you asking Santa for es and bad wigs, these films will give your ego a much needed boost. Equally, ‘Dirty Dancing’ proves that even Discovered that with a big nose there really are no you can still good men in seduce a Patrick Dublin? Rent out Swayze. But if ‘Intermission’ feayou are really a turing Colin Farrell lost cause, we and Cillian Murphy; recommend the Irish born, bred and TV programme beautiful. They do ‘ E x t r e m e exist, just try the Makeover’.

UCD rugby team.

Apparently ugly And if they happen people have feelto be on tour, why ings too, but we not suggest a girlie pretty people weekend out of don’t care about Dublin. What goes them. on on tour, stays on Need a film to tour. Apparently. make your bloke Realised friend you fancy that your allowance think you are is large enough to really cool? Try a buy yourself a ‘dick flick’. The lover? Take a leaf obvious two are out of Debra ‘Scarface’ and Messings book in ‘Pulp Fiction’ ‘The Wedding Date’ but for someand hire one. They thing more origisay the best things nal that will realin life are free, but ly get you for all of you who noticed try ‘Boys have been single for most of your Trinity Hilton’s Sex Movie (the film was not shot in Paris). in the Hood’, a classic mix of career you’ll know this is bulls**t! a boob job. Instead, we recom- guns, drugs and cars. You don’t Got a reputation? mend ‘One Night In Paris’. While actually have to pay attention, use Watching ‘Pretty Woman’ will he becomes turgid, you can try the time to exercise your pelvic floor muscles. make you feel like a born again We hope this article has virgin and restores the faith that “Watching ‘Pretty given you some useful advice for you can still marry a millionaire even if you’re legs spread as wide Woman’ will make you any situation life may throw at as Front Square. feel like a born again you. We leave you with one more pearl of wisdom. NEVER rent out Harbouring secret lesvirgin and restores the ‘Bridget Jones’ (part one or two) bian thoughts? ‘Stealing Beauty’ will give you two hours of faith that you can still on your own. You will be found unadulterated Liv Tyler and even marry a millionaire dead by desperation, covered in Dunnes Stores five euro wine, shows a nipple or two. even if your legs spread wearing nothing but a pair of No penetration for three weeks and needing something to as wide as Front granny knickers whilst being eaten by Alsations. get him in the mood? Although Square.” not strictly under the chick flick genre, mild pornography is an excellent aphrodisiac when your and work out where she purstudent budget doesn’t stretch to chased her lingerie.

Admit it. You are only reading this review to discover one vital piece of information: how does Matthew MacFadyen’s Darcy

Firth: “...leonine, statuesque visage...” compare to gorgeous hulky, sulky Colin Firth’s, who has never since managed to wrestle his way out of the shadow of that part? With no chances to repeat that lake scene, complete with wet shirt,

MacFadyen starts off with a handicap.

Yet wet shirts apart, MacFadyen never succeeds in establishing himself. He plays haughtiness like an under-butler.

His Darcy is an electric-powered sports car, trying to make a statement but lacking roar. His weak, mouse-like features pale against Firth’s leonine, statuesque visage. Long live King Colin!

This film, however, never set out to be a Darcy-fest.

Keira Knightley as Lizzy Bennet was this film’s unique selling point from start to finish. It was a performance she passed off convincingly, showing a greater restraint than the melodramatic producers might have wanted.

Yet actors and actresses are being paid for beauty; this reviewer has problems with Keira’s ever-present mouthful of pebbles, making her look as if she is trying to speak with the clipped clarity of Demosthenes.

Does she need to employ such devices, having recently been included in Tatler magazine’s “little black book of celebutantes and the hip-hopcracy” posh-list (which reacts to Kate Moss’s recent career hiccups with the comment, “Naughty, naughty, naughty. We love it”)?

I had a sense throughout of there being something up with her hair, but couldn’t pin it down.

And I can deliver one revelation, not perhaps shocking but certainly startling. Keira was wearing a wig. Keira? Wig? Eh? While reviewing the all important hair factor, was this film sponsored by Brylcreem?

TRINITY NEWS MOVIE CROSSWORD Across: 1. Bourne... again.

4. The world’s worst actor?

Ask the Oracle.

8.Charlie Kauffman’s celluloid wet dream.

10. Leading star of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ 12. Apocalypse has-been.

13. Here’s Johnny!

14. ‘Dusk til Dawn’ star subsequently out of sight.

Down: 2. Stalker turns the gun on himself in ‘Nam 3. Quentin’sbill 5. Pixar’s underwater adventure.

6. Pianist director.

7. UN colonel in ‘Hotel Rwanda’ 9.That famous Jedi knight who fought for Irish freedom.

11. Kate Winslet’s husband.

Mr Bingley (Simon Woods) watching modern costume dralooked like he had been sleeping mas; few of us today know with a hoover attached to his whether a phaeton is the carriage fringe, putting Tintin, the king of equivalent of a Skoda or a Rolls the quiff,to shame.

Royce, or can imagine the thrill An excellent perform- accompanying the arrival of the ance comes from Mr Collins (Tom militia in town.

Hollander), whose robotic proSo don’t have a heart of nouncements (especially those of love) were brilliantly delivered, creating one of the best characters of this production, his small figure being well-exploited throughout. Judy Dench, as Lady Catherine De Burgh also gives a typically whizz-bang performance, with an exhilaratingly catty showdown between herself and Lizzie Bennet.

Trumpeting itself very much as a modern interpretation, this Pride & Prejudice sets off at a cracking pace, rarely letting up, while also remaining coherent.

Jane’s invitation to the Bingleys and her subsequent illness is related in about seven seconds flat, illustrated by a letter, a sneeze, and another letter. As Bingley leaves Netherfield, the white covers are being draped over the furniture before his carriage has even turned a corner.

The film should also be commended for creating a vivid impression of England during that period. The country-dances MacFadyen: “...weak, are a terrific buzz of convivial crowdedness (all the richer for mouse-like features...” featuring a pair of beautiful Trinity extras), and the few street stone about Keira’s jawline. This scenes are captivating. In an age film is out soon on DVD, and you when films are attacked for never can spend all night commenting approaching the quality of the on the actors’ hairstyles. books they imitate, this attention to detail is a great excuse for

12

Tuesday November 15, 2005

Music Editor:Steve Clarke

Trinity News

MUSIC

Choose Fife

Tortoise and Bonnie "Prince" Billy: The Brave and the Bold

King Creosote, a.k.a. Kenny Anderson,talks to Steve Clarke about his new record, his pioneering Fence Records label and his chances of appearing on the the O.C.

Cian Traynor

can’t do that’. Y’know, we’re very much about saying yes, so we keep doing that until we get screwed over, but we’re here to play tunes and we are renowned for just saying “aye, aye, we’ll do it!” I dunno. I think there’s a few bands on the label who will go on and sign for other labels and hopefully they’ll always think back to the Fence Collective as the place where they’ve came from, and then there’ll be bands who won’t ever want to do that. Yeah, their music might end up in all sorts of odd places, but it’s gonna be by request. I don’t think there’s anything we can do to make that happen except maybe refine our art a bit better, and hopefully stay original, which is quite difficult. So if somebody from the O.C. came and said, and we met them and we liked them, and they asked, we’d probably say “Aye, alright.” {laughs} TN: I’m looking forward to that.

You yourself, and most of the Fence Collective, are based in this tiny village called Anstruther…

KA: Well, about 80% are based in Anstruther or have ties to Anstruther.

TN: Is it the indie Nashville of Scotland? The new Seattle perhaps?

King Creosote contemplates the meaning of life...

You may not have heard of Fence records, or of the Fence Collective, but you’re probably aware of some of their alumni; James Yorkston, Lone Pigeon (a.k.a. Gordon Anderson, one-time member of the Beta Band), and not so long ago, KT Tunstall. The label owner, Kenny Anderson, also records for the Scottish indie-folk cooperative as King Creosote (he’s also part of Domino-signed U.N.P.O.C. trivia fans). Trinity News’ Steve Clarke caught up with “the King”, as he doesn’t call himself, midway through his current Twisted Folk tour.

Trinity News: Your latest album is called “KC Rules OK”, with the sleeve being a picture of that title graffitied onto a fence. Do you see yourself as part of a gang?

Kenny Anderson: Yeah, well I’m still very much part of the Fence Collective, so the whole idea was that KC was still on Fence I suppose, even though I’ve signed to 679. So that was the point behind the fence on the album cover. If I was really pushing it I’d really want the Fence logo on the back.

But that would have been pushing it a little bit too much. So yeah, I didn’t get my Fence logo on the back so I’ve a huge fence on the front. How about that?

TN: I guess it’s a compromise.

KA: I think I came out pretty good.

TN: Manchester’s the Earlies provide backing band duties on this record. How’d that come about?

KA: Well, my A & R man has his own label which is part of 679- he works in the Rough Trade Shop in Notting Hill in London and he’d been selling King Creosote CD-R titles we had had out on the Fence label for a couple of years. He basically built up our Best Of collection in his head. He also got that band the Earlies and he put the two things together, he thought it’d work really well, so he booked studio time, and yeah, that’s it. He was bang on the money.

TN: You pretty much recorded the album live too- no over-dubs, no multiple takes. What influenced that decision?

KA: I just think that the first time you run through a song you usually get the best performance. In the back of your mind you know you

have got other attempts if you fuck it up, but I reckon you usually nail it- you get the emotion and you get everything right. So basically, yeah, all the guitar parts were the guides, all the vocals were the guide vocals and yeah- one-take wonders getting it done. Studio time is expensive, the clock is ticking…

TN: It’s a pressure cooker. What is it about Scotland and indie music?

From bands like the Vaselines and the Jesus and Mary Chain, to Mogwai and Belle and Sebastian, there seems to be a really strong tradition of producing really great indie music there.

KA: I think a lot of it is that there

8 albums done over the space of a year and a half- that was the highest kinda workload but I don’t have a television so its not that difficult if you record a song a night, after work.

TN: How do you go about writing a song? Is there a process?

KA: No, I never sit down with a piece of paper and a guitar or anything….usually I’ll have ideas, when I’m driving or whatever, someone will say something and I’ll jot it down and then if I get a free hour or two to muck around with my guitar I’ll just go though my lyric book and see if anything jumps out at me. I don’t work too hard at songs, I just try and get the

TN: What are the ideals behind the Fence Collective? Do you have a particular philosophy?

KA: What the Fence records philosophy really is is to make each band as self-sufficient as they can be really, from recording their own albums- we’re primarily a CD-R label- to original artwork, to making things exclusive, and not cheapening the music in any way, but making it something a collector would want to have, because it’s very time consuming. I try to get the bands to just do a little more for themselves. If they do more for themselves they make more, then they’re happier. They realise that they have to work hard to sell records- it’s not enough now to just

‘You’re always really paranoid that you’ve ripped something off somebody else; that’s the worst bit- now the music’s going out in the world.

I dunno, what if that is really just Duran Duran’s “Girls on Film”?’ isn’t really a music industry in Scotland, so everybody is in their little camps and they’re forced to do it for themselves, and it’s really hard to impress on your home turf.

Scotland as a record buying nation pretty much follows what London dictates so when you do stuff on your own, it almost has to be better than anything else….you have to exaggerate it a little bit and the standards have to be way higher…I think that’s a big part of it.

TN: Ok then. You’ve released over two dozen albums, which is quite prolific by anybody’s standards.

Would you say you’re a workaholic?

KA: Well for I while I just had a lot of free time I suppose, and I felt quite inspired for a couple of yearsI just banged them out. But I guess owning your own label you don’t

emotion or whatever, the idea, and see what happens from there. But you’re always really paranoid that you’ve ripped something off somebody else- that’s the worst bit- now the music’s going out in the world.

I dunno, what if that is really just Duran Duran’s “Girls on Film”?

TN: I guess there are only twelve notes to choose from.

KA: Well, that’s it- it’s amazing, someone will always point out ‘that’s just something else’ and you’re like “oh shit”. I don’t really wanna get absorbed in anybody else’s music either, cus you end up thinking all your ideas are shit in comparison. It’s quite a thin line to tread- to be inspired by people and yet not listen to them too much and just get on with your own thing.

Sometimes that comes over as ‘my music is better than anybody else’s’

sit in your bedroom and knock out some really good tunes- you’ve got to go out there and play them live, and find a following. You’ve got to charm an audience and its really hard work once you’ve finally made the record- in fact, it’s nearly harder to get out there and have to sell it. So yeah, we really want to be a sort of focal point; a lot of bands we have are quite shythey’re not all into going out and playing live, they’re not all into being famous or anything like that.

It’s really about the music, so we try to steer them all through it, pack them together. Safety in numbers and all that kind of clichéd stuff…

TN: Your label obviously has a very punk rock, D.I.Y. ethos. Do you like to see yourself as a “maverick”, or a “loose cannon” in relation to the mainstream music industry?

doing so we’ve never made any money of course, but yeah, its really about keeping the pack together, doing shows… and we do actually make it, not purposefully difficult, but we’ve never gone in for the hard sell, we don’t take out adverts, we don’t pester people with our music, we never send demos… press-wise, people have come to us as fans. I think its really important in this climate that your audience finds you cus it’s a little bit more precious for them, they feel a little bit more a part of it. We do shows in our local town and try and get the audiences to come to us and then they become a part of it- I think its really important just to build and build slowly and not have some kind of trend driven- y’know ‘lets make a quick sting, then use the money to find another trendy thing’. So in that way maybe it is maverick. We make a really bad job of selling ourselves, but for us that’s good- it was never our intention to compete with the music industry; this was our reaction to the music industry. And now we are actually being drawn into it a little bit more, but its always been more the stick than the carrot really.

TN: Personally I think a lot of similarities could be drawn with a label like Omaha’s Saddle Creek- locally based, a distinct sound, very much doing their own thing in a purist sort of way. Of course, that scene has kind of exploded with the advent of [teen soft porn soap opera] the O.C. Do you see yourself or any of the other bands in the Fence Collective appearing on the O.C. in the near future?

KA: Well, we haven’t really put down guidelines saying ‘oh, you

KA: Well, in terms of the way the East Neuk of Fife works, its got St.Andrews, Scotland’s biggest university town- the house prices and rent have all been driven really high so you find a lot of people are living in these fishing villages.

We don’t want to live in the cities, we live in this beautiful area, and we just wanna get on with it, on our home turf. It also works when people come from the student areas because they are generally surprised, the area affects them and they want to come back. And then they become part of our sort of community. I don’t think we could operate in a city in that same wayin cities you’re always swamped by competition, there’s always other scenes and then there’s copy-cat scenes- y’know, it becomes a trend thing. Whereas in Anstruther it takes a much longer time to build, but when it does build it’s just a steadier foundation really.

TN: I read that you took your name from a character in Monty Python’s Meaning of Life…

KA: {laughs} Well, not really. I know there is a Mr. Creosote now, but I had the Fence label first and I needed something to go with that so that was the creosote {it’s a chemical used to treat wood, apparently}. I don’t know where the ‘King’ bit came from… I used to really like Kid Creole and the Coconuts…{who took their name from the Elvis Presley film, King Creole, fact fans!}.

TN: Ok, you didn’t get your name form Python’s The Meaning of Life so. Want to hazard an opinion as to the meaning of life anyway?

KA: Is that the whole ‘42’ thing?

Nah, I don’t know what the meaning of life is at all. I struggle with that one.

TN: Yes, I think we all do. I think we all do.

Will Oldham's voice seems to have as many variations as he has pseudonyms, so ever since word spread sometime earlier this year that a collaboration between Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Tortoise was on the cards, followers of both artists have been speculating endlessly as to what the end product might sound like. Those who have had enough with salivating at the prospect alone may be pleasantly surprised to hear that a sound surprisingly similar to the Flaming Lips opens the album with a haunting reinterpretation of Elton John's "Daniel," of all things. However, rather than set the tone of the project, "The Brave and the Bold" is a challenging, adaptive listen that feels as diverse as the list of artists it covers.

After the reverberating drones of "Daniel" and a relatively straightforward take on Richard and Linda Thompson's "The Calvary Cross," comes Devo's "It's Pep!" Disappointingly, it sounds little more than someone (almost anyone, in fact) covering Devo, messily shaking it up until it makes a near seemless transition into the Minutemen's "It's Expected I'm Gone." So much so, in fact, that the latter sounds like a settled version of the former, grinding neatly as Oldham delivers a Chris Cornell-like vocal.

Taking on the Brazilian beats of Milton Nascimento and charging his "Cravo é Canela" with distortion, tellingly, this is perhaps the only track on "The Brave and the Bold" that sounds anything close to the kind of dynamic Tortoise are known for.

Similarly, Melanie's "Some Say (I Got Devil)" reveals further cracks in the concept when Oldham's croak is guilty of running on autopilot, becoming a disinterested pedestrian (and, arguably, not for the first time) until the track is rendered a pale comparison of what was originally a beautiful song.

With a sleeker take on Quix'o'tic's lo-fi indie sounds, the subtleties of "On My Own" shows that Tortoise and Bonnie Prince Billy are capable of getting things just right after all. However, the same can't be said for the majority of the rest, and this nicely contained track remains as one of the album's few memorable moments.

Meanwhile, on Lungfish's "Love is Love," the bubbling distortion that persistently emanates from the keyboards (not only here but throughout the album) takes the sheen off what is a sleek and effective song by one of the last great emo bands.

Finishing with an ambitious rethreading of the anthemic "Thunder Road," Springsteen's trickling piano is replaced with some squealing synths and extremely effective slithering guitar, and while Oldham's vocals may not sound like they contain any pressing urgency, they manage to contribute to a portrait that recasts the original as an epic, paying tribute to exactly the way a good cover version should.

In the end, though Tortoise fans may feel that the band is slightly curtailed in such a supportive role, "The Brave and the Bold" will certainly be considered as a must-buy release to both parties' admirers. Having originally come about after Oldham jokingly told Overcoat Recordings owner Howard Greynolds that he would only consider recording a covers album if he had Tortoise backing him, it seems as if that lack of seriousness has translated into the work as a whole, feeling like an idea for a quality EP that inadvertently expanded into an album.

Label – BMG, 17th October 2005

On releasing more than two dozen albums: ‘Well for I while I just had a lot of free time I suppose, and I felt quite inspired for a couple of years- I just banged them out. But I guess owning your own label you don’t quite have the same sort of quality control...I don’t have a television so its not that difficult if you record a song a night, after work. quite have the same sort of quality control {laughs} that you might have on another label that’s looking to sell your music, and selling the music was never really the main goal, so yeah, there was about 6 or

but its not really that at all- you have to find your own muse really, your own style and hope that it compares with everybody else’s own style.

KA: Well, I think we are loose cannons in that we haven’t tried to sell our music, which sounds pretty ridiculous if you want to be a label, but we’re not really sales driven. In

Competition Win a King Creosote T-Shirt See Page 21 for Details

Music Editor:Steve Clarke

Tuesday November 15, 2005

Trinity News

13

MUSIC

Deus: Of Gods And Monsters...

Monsters of Rock, that is. Steve Clarke interviews dEUS, Belgium’s finest export since Tintin Naming themselves after God, it’s probably fitting that, for all intents and purposes, dEUS invented the Belgium music scene.

Emerging from Antwerp in 1994, the art-rocker’s first album Worst Case Scenario mixed gonzoid punk, funk basslines, oblique lyrics and screaming guitars that were equal parts jazz, blues and grunge. For once there arrived a band who really did sound like no one else, who remained visceral and melodic whilst also producing music that was wholly unique and unexpected.

The follow-up album, 1996’s In A Bar, Under The Sea was equally well received by both critics and audiences alike, spawning singles such as the frenzied (and completely mental) Fell Off The Floor, Man and the really quite beautiful (but also mental) Little Arithmetics.

Their last album, Ideal Crash, was released in 1999, and little surfaced from the band since then, with band members concentrating on sideprojects. Now touring their new album Pocket Revolution, Trinity News caught up with singer/guitarist (and only original member) Tom Barman before their sell-out Ambassador gig.

Trinity News: You’ve just released your new album, Pocket Revolution. A lot of the reviews I’ve read commented that it’s more polished or restrained {Barman laughs} than previous albums; while still sounding like dEUS it’s more pop. Would you agree?

Tom Barman: I dunno, everybody says something different about it. I don’t think what I think about it is really relevant- I’m just happy it’s there and I’m happy we can take it on tour and we can play it. It was a bastard to record it so… I dunno, some people say it’s much darker and less poppy than Ideal Crash and others say it’s more poppy.

Some people say it’s more dark and other people say it’s more polished and accessible, so I don’t know, I don’t know what to think. What do you think?

TN: It’s definitely not as chaotic as previous albums…

TB: Well, when we made Ideal Crash they said the same thingthey said it’s more structured and this and that, but there comes a time when you just wanna change things y’know, do things differently. And I was really thinking a lot about songs for this one; I know maybe for the first minute songs like Real Sugar may come across as something “normal”, but its just something we wanted to do, something y’know…simple. At the same time we still like to layer songs and to stuff them full of little sounds and noises, and little melodies.

Soundwise I’m really happy with it. I think it sounds very warm and thoughtful, and that, for me personally, was a step forward.

TN: How did the making of the new album differ from previous ones, what with the long absence [their last album, Ideal Crash was released in 1999] and line-up changes?

TB: Well, it’s always a nightmare to record a dEUS album. It’s never easy, but this time around it was the hardest ever, cus people left midrecording and there was a lot of personal stuff going on. But it’s never easy cus we’ve always been a band with a lot if ideas and its been like just me saying play this or play that, its always been a lot of ideas flying around, people playing different instruments and trying things out…you get conflicts. Sometimes you get good stuff and sometimes you get conflicts, but in the end I always hope we’re got good stuff, y’know? But it was a hard one…it was not a very good period in my life- it was very hard, that’s why I repeat I’m really happy that it’s there. It’s a small victory for myself that the album actually got made…

TN: What with all the line up changes would it be fair to say that Deus is now essentially a different band?

TB: Well yeah, I think its been different for every record but at the same time I thinks there’s- well its not really for me to say- but I think there’s a vein running through them, y’know- it’s me singing, and it’s me bringing the most songs, about 50 or 60% would be brought by me. That was the same for Worst Case, the same for In A Bar, the same for Ideal Crash and the same for this one. But it’s been the different people; they’ve always been people with strong personality’s and strong musical ideas. And I think that’s definitely a line that runs through it and makes it sound like dEUS. People ask me sometimes why don’t you go solo or this or that, but I really like working with people who don’t necessarily agree with me.

TN: dEUS and Soulwax are probably the two biggest bands to come out of Belgium, and both are very innovative in your own ways. Do you think there is something distinctive about the Belgium music scene that created you, that fosters this innovation perhaps?

TB: I dunno. I think because we’re such a small country, because we’re a young country, because we are a country that doesn’t have a really big tradition with song writing or with rock bands… where popular music is concerned I think we have kind of an open mind to it.

It’s like the English grew up with the Beatles, and the Americans with Elvis. The Belgians grew up with record stores. And I think you can hear that- we just mix things up and see what happens, whereas maybe bands that work in a tradi-

Another dEUS in the office... tion like Irish bands or English bands would…think twice about mixing different styles because its maybe not done or it’s a bit weird.

So I think in Belgium there’s kind of an openness towards experimentation. I think you can see that not only in music but in theatre as well, in art definitely, and sometimes in movies. So I think, not wanting to sound too heavy handed, but I think there is still a freshness, and a willingness to turn rules around.

broke the ice and I will continue with that. But not straight away.

TB: Well, we’ve never really gave TN: Your music has always been it a shot with America. We toured TN: You’re pretty multi-talented, very experimental, shifting there for I think a couple of weeks, having experimented in various between various different styles. and you basically have to go out mediums, along the same lines as Who were the bands or artists that and live there to really do somesomeone like Beck or Tom Waits influenced you? thing. I don’t mean physically live possibly. Is music primary for you? there, but really spend months and You said before that film was your TB: Well first of all I’m not alone months and tour and tour and do first love. Do you have a prefer- in the band so the shifting of differ- meets and greets and in-stores and ence? ent styles has got to do with differ- stuff. We never really felt much for ent people and with people, as I’ve that. We’re gonna go with this TB: For me they co-exist perfect- said before, with people who have album. Basically, we just wanna ly. There were days when I had to their own ideas about music, so I have fun…if something good hapTN: You’ve recently pens well just written and directthat’s good ed your debut film “It’s like the English grew up with the Beatles, and the Americans with but we’re not yourself, Anyway The Elvis. The Belgians grew up with record stores. And I think you can gonna go Wind Blows, which there to force hear that- we just mix things up and see what happens...” partly contributed to things…I the six year time gap between Ideal go to festivals to defend the film, to can’t take credit for that. My per- dunno, I think we have a very Crash and Pocket Revolution. Now Q and A’s, and then the next day I sonal influences would be from, of accessible side, we like melodies you’re back in dEUS does this feel would do an interview about the course, from Velvet Underground, and I think melodies are liked all like a priority or are you eager to record we did. So that was like, I to Beefheart, to songwriters like over the world, so I don’t think that continue in films? had the two things on one day, and Dylan and Leonard Cohen, who are with the American people we are it really takes no effort for me to very present in my writing when I too difficult or too strange or too TB: I will continue film, but every- switch from one to the other. It is write myself. On the other hand, whatever for Americans. I think if thing I do at the time is a priority, coming from the same place and I people like David Lynch, or people people give us a chance we could so I’m not thinking of movies right want to reach the same thing with like Beefheart who are multi-disci- do well everywhere. But you have now, I’m just happy to be back on it. I just wanna say something plined, and who seem able to com- to work for that and sometimes its tour with dEUS and its going good. about myself and about the world I bine different disciplines in a cohe- just impossible for time or impossiI don’t think we’re gonna wait 6 see, and the way I live, whether it sive way are of course a big influ- ble for money , or you just don’t years for another dEUS record, so be a four minute song or a two hour ence as well. feel like it, so I don’t really feel it’ll be dEUS for a while now, but film. It’s of course two completely sociologically, that country is definitely I have plans for movies- different disciplines but they come TN: You’ve done far better in gonna get us. It’s just a matter of it was my first love and the first from the same place so I have no Europe than the USA. Do you think luck I think. thing I wanted to do as a kid. Now preference. I love them both and that the audience there is looking I’ve made my first movie I’ve the older I get the more I see I real- for something different?

TN: You’re known for your blister(keyboards featuring prominently as a result of new recruit Bo Koster) before slinking into an effective but entirely recognisable record company problems and Perhaps the main development Cian Traynor chorus. By the time we reach doesn’t seem to have been as posi- was the addition of brass and "Gideon," it's hard not to think tively reviewed as “Mute”. But all string arrangements contributed by The induction of two new bandthat MMJ have decided to emulate that was so special on “Mute” is one-time Nick Drake collaborator members to the fold seems to have the likes of Coldplay here; to present, and is added to.

Robert Kirby. Such sublime songs made an immediate impact to My some this may seem a masterDale Grundle: “I hate as “Deflect” are the result.

Morning Jacket's sound. Gone is stroke of reinvention, but for those the idea of a band only having one “Stooping To Fit” leaves you in the reverb-heavy falsetto of Jim who have attached a greater sigthing to give, or one way of preawe of how a handful of people, James "tunnel effect" vocals, and nificance to their former identity senting it. I want Catchers to be adding together their creativity with it goes the lo-fi alt-country versatile and ever changing.” and talent, can produce something Though the album is feel that previously seemed to Prior to recording so unique and important. The type characterise their every move. being widely heralded “Stooping To Fit” line-up changes of music that can really uplift and Finally leaving their comfort zone as a breakthrough in saw Craig Carpenter replace origiset you on your way. with "Z," My Morning Jacket nal bassist Ger Fitzgerald (the Look sharp for new developments. form, one need only utilise the production values that remaining origiJohn Leckie provides to undertake take a listen to "Off nal member was explorations of a sonic variety, the Record" to know Peter Kelly on completely re-working their aesdrums). An addisuch lavish praise thetic architecture in the process. tional guitarist, From the surprising elecsmacks as a bit excesJonathan Lord, tro hum of the album's opening sive. also joined the seconds, there is a tighter, crisper band, making sound apparent in the flow of (even by those who rarely listened them a 5-piece. things. So when "Wordless to them), "Z" may prove difficult The band now Chorus" begins to float through to digest. had a fuller with M.Ward-like "ahhhhs," it's Though the album is sound, and a clear that this new approach works being widely heralded as a breakmore diverse for the band, producing one of through in form, one need only sound as well. their most accessible songs to take a listen to "Off the Record" to Track 5, date. From there we run into the know such lavish praise smacks as “Ribbons”, is quietened "It Beats for You," a bit excessive. An altogether almost wholly which underlies the initial impresskippable foray into white reggae, electronic. sion that guitars could go largely James adopts a Joe Strummer-like missing in action on this album vocal for the grating chorus

(Catching Up With) Catchers John Fahy 29-07… In the middle of trying to get a new band together to go out and play live 14-09…First rehearsal took place last night Posted over the summer on sleepingyears.com, a website dedicated to the brilliant band that are Catchers, this is the most welcome of news.

Hailing from Portstewart, County Derry, Catchers released two albums of absolute immense worth during the ‘90’s. To be familiar with these albums and not be excited about new material would be baffling.

And so as well as looking forward, right now is also a perfect time, once again or for the first time, to be enthused by what came before.

Catchers’ debut album “Mute” was released in 1994.

Despite positive reviews, it was ignored if measured by record sales, both here and in the UK. Stronger interest in America merited a lengthy tour, while France also proved properly tuned in,

making the album a hit with subsequent sold out shows.

First single, “Cotton Dress” attracted most attention (for example, Melody Maker gave it ‘single of the week’) and it isn’t hard to hear why. Backing is provided by dual guitars, chiming and

“...the type of music that can really uplift and set you on your way” zooming parts swooping back and forth with sharply melodic sections. And while twin vocals are in general a good feature, the way Dale Grundle and Alice Lemon combine on songs such as “Cotton Dress” is pure bliss. Comparisons with Low could be made.

“Cotton Dress” is such a complete song that it alone makes “Mute” vital. Yet the amazing song craft of Catchers can be heard over and over on the album, on tracks such as “Beauty No.3” and “Song for Autumn” especially.

Released in 1998, follow up album, “Stooping To Fit” appears to have been delayed by

ly need them both.

My Morning Jacket- Z

ing live shows. Looking forward to returning to Dublin?

TB: Oh absolutely, absolutely yes.

Definitely {laughs}. We’re having a good time, we’ve done France now, Belgium, Holland, so it’s just the start of the European tour and we’ve always had a fantastic fan base in Dublin- I remember the Olympia, we played the Mean Fiddler twice, we played the Point.

And it’s always been a good time so I can’t wait actually to come with this band and introduce them and then play the old songs, loads of the new songs, so definitely looking forward to that.

TN: I have one final question. I’ve been having a lot of trouble with elevators recently. If you were to be trapped in an elevator what music, or muzac, would you like playing?

TB: {laughs} None, none, none whatsoever, cus I wanna shout to get me out, so I don’t need music, they gotta hear me! I wanna hear what movement is going on with the rescue operation, if it’s getting closer. I’m completely claustrophobic where it concerns elevators, so I’d want no music whatsoever.

before, in a recurring trend throughout "Z," the final two minutes manage to suddenly improve until the song somehow redeems itself. After somewhat of a dip in quality, "Knot Comes Loose" (a return to their Neil Young influences) and the tail end of "Dondante" go some distance to leave things on a high note, but whether it's enough to make up for a rather thinly spread end product or not is up for debate.

Littered with religious imagery, "Z" doesn't quite reach the epicambitions that MMJ were obviously aiming for, but their renewed scope willcertainly stream their fan base through far wider channels, if not the fringes of the album charts...though the disc's stringent security features won't win them many admirers.

Label – BMG, 17th October 2005

14

Tuesday November 15th, 2005

Food & Drink Editor: Rosie Gogan-Keogh

Trinity News

FOOD & DRINK Starter Vs Dessert: A Character Defining Decision Rachel Spence

of delicious pleasure that you have turned your fork from, so to speak.

There has to be something wrong with someone who passes up on delicious home made apple crumble, served warm with a generous amount of custard and, if your really lucky a dollop of softly whipped cream.

Desserts give a real sense of indulgence, and there is one awaiting your every mood for

Be smarter and abandon the starter!

Well, that’s what I say anyway and why would you listen to me - I’ve only dedicated nineteen years (not to mention my would be size 8 hips) to becoming a pudding pro.

Indeed, I am a Dessert lover and as such I find it deeply perplexing when friends openly admit that they would often choose to have a starter instead of a sweet. Why, would you say this? Why, anyone would think that it’s ok to say this type of thing in broad daylight like there’s nothing wrong with liking savoury over sweet. Why would you want to go and ruin my sense of equilibrium by throwing a statement like that out into the open? When I hear such a thing I am compelled to launch into an impassioned rant which goes as follows, (so those of you who are ignorant in matters of the sweet menu listen up). Firstly I begin by voicing the despair I feel, the total incredulity of this statement. WHY? Desserts are fabulous. They are like the Marilyn Monroe of the food world, there’s something indulgent, sexy even about dessert. The Sweet overshadows the Starter in every conceivable way. I would even go as far as to say that it is a waste to have a starter instead of dessert as this just detracts from the main course of a meal, the main merely merges into the starter becoming more of the same, but dessert (very deep inhale) is a totally new taste sensation. It’s the text book case of leaving the best til last, all through the meal this is what you have been working up to, finishing on a high note, the cream of the crop if you will. Plus may The choice is yours...

I just point out at this stage that the sweets in a restaurant example- feeling fun and light then are always far more impressive lemon meringue would be the than any old tiger prawn or heaven choice, feelings playful then profhelp us soup de jour could ever iteroles, sexy – Baileys cheesecake, hope to be. I mean come on, any- naughty then obviously chocolate one that says this is not true, have fudge cake. See where I’m going you ever tasted Bailey’s cheese- with this? When you eat dessert cake? If not then I advise you to you feel like you are really treating get a taste, there is a whole world yourself, the whole point is that you can have something totally

sublime that you would never be bothered to make at home, so why anyone would waste time and calories with a ceaser salad is beyond me.

Ok, ok starters aren’t all bad, infact they’re alright but when you put a battered mushroom up against up against sticky, squidgey, banoffee pie the old shrivelled ‘shroom doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance, in fact it has all the appeal

of eating cold sick.

Of course there are those who have been reading this essay who are wondering why I’m making such an issue of this, but I assure you the choice between starter and sweet is pivotal and character defining. It should be taking with the same weightiness as choosing between Will and

Grace or Friends, only in this scenario the winner is blatantly better by a long shot. These same people who think “what’s the big deal” are the ones also thinking “why not have all three courses?” At this I take a moment to smile sympathetically and breathe a breath that displays patience, and then I turn and say in a voice similar to when your mum told you off in front of people, (very stern, hissy voice) “This is a dirty, nasty thing to think-it is simply not done, its unjustifiable, there is no excuse for.

It is too much. Not worth the pain and discomfort it brings. END OF! Lastly I wish to address those of you from the school of “actually I find dessert a bit too sweet”……eh PLEASE what a bunch of absolute baloney, actually you know what I don’t even believe you, clearly you are an absolute kill joy, the type of person that saves the wrapping paper from the Christmas presents or only eats half a packet of crisps. Either that or you had parents who were too into healthy eating when you were young and as a result you were exposed to the joys of sugar too late. If this is the problem then there is no hope for you, you are hopelessly flawed and should be left by the wayside.

I’m going to stop now, but in closing I’d like to leave you with an image: a deep, thick, moist slice of calorific chocolate fudge cake, warm with just the right amount of cream dripping shamelessly down the side.

Salivating to the max, you sink in the fork.

Nothing else matters, in that moment there is only you and the cake.

Ok, I think I’ve said enough and next time I’ll writing about the demon of weight loss which coincidently does not feature desserts in the slightest, how strange.

Conspicuous Consumption …With Claudia Braün

Well, it’s been another hectic week here in the clammy enclaves of Women’s Prison. Much to my chagrin I yesterday received an unsolicited visit from the prison chaplain, a crustaceous figure who looks to have been overfed on all the wrong kinds of sustenance.

Before I chased him out of my cell, he glibly advised me to utilise the time of my imprisonment to reflect upon my mistakes. Now, perhaps it is the stale air, the rank cuisine, or the complete lack of mental stimulation to which I am subjected, but the chaplain’s words managed to take root, and I have spent the morning ruminating upon them while awaiting the arrival of my scribe. Having never made any actual mistakes of my own – except perhaps in the choice of leotard I wore to my third husband’s cremation – I found myself casting a rueful eye over the many, many missteps of others, particularly those of my sister Hecabe.

Though I hold my late sister very dearly to my heart, even I must concede that she was a redwine-with-fish sort of a woman, one given to the most appalling lapses in taste and subject to the most ludicrous dietary fads. In fact, I blame her brief flirtation with vegetarianism for the fact that, while she managed to elude permanently becoming such an abomination herself, such a lucky escape did not preclude the wretched woman from conceiving one. Yes, Hecabe brought shame to the household when her first born wrenched himself out of the womb, two months premature, wailing ‘Meat is Murder’ to a stunned

SEARCH FOR THE HOLY GRAIL

delivery room. Of course, Hecabe had been warned that artificial conception at the age of fifty-four could lead to certain abnormalities, but she did not heed these warnings, just as she did not heed the protestations of the Japanese chef who, fourteen years later, advised her that the consumption of a whole uncooked blowfish – with or without a ‘nice, hearty red’ – was an idea perhaps bordering on the unwise. It was the blowfish that did Hecabe in, but The Vegetarian had doubtless been chipping away at her constitution with greater force than would normally be attributed to such an anaemic being.

And so it was that My Nephew The Vegetarian was temporarily foisted upon myself and my most recent husband, Arthur Keogh-Browne. Being a tolerant

“That evening...

I thanked whichever god I was woshipping at the time that I had asked Chef to bake four-andtwenty blackbirds in a pie, just in case.” woman, I tried to put a brave face on the situation, ignoring the boy’s shrill protestations at our Sunday lucheon of quail eggs served with a mongoose paté. Eventually, however, all my good will was undone both by The Vegetarian’s surly attitude and the faint smell of compost that seemed to follow him wheresoever he went, and I decided that it would be best for all concerned if the cheeky prole be housed in the bomb shelter until such a time as he was ready to mingle with polite society.

Well, imagine my surprise, dear reader, when it was communicated to me that evening (via the gardener) that The Vegetarian was not only ready to leave the bomb shelter, but that he had asked if he might be permitted to cook a meal for my husband and I – one which, he claimed, would convert us to vegetarianism in one mouthful. Of course I scoffed, but

– remembering that his mother had died of blowfish poisoning but two days before and he was doubtless hysterical – I decided to humour the wretch. Oh, how I wish I had listened to my gut instinct and simply booked the boy in for six weeks of electric shock therapy.

I received a shock of my own, however, when Hecabe’s Mossy Mishap informed my husband and I that we would be dining on Cous-Cous. Cous-Cous being the name of a hat-designer friend of mine, I was most startled to think that my nephew had made the leap from vegetarianism to cannibalism without so much as a suckling pig to bridge the gap. However, I remained mindful of my resolution and sat down in the summer dining room, happy at least that the meal would contain some measure of protein – Cous-Cous having been on the Atkins for the past seven years. Well, any shock I may have felt at first was as nothing to my disgust at the flavourless yellow sludge which was placed before me. One mouthful was all the confirmation I needed that the carnivorous diet is the only one appropriate to the human palette. Hastily, I had both Cous-Cous and Vegetarian removed, the former to the dump and the latter to a Workhouse in Mogadishu.

That evening, as The Vegetarian was carted off to a quickly chartered plane, I thanked whichever god I was woshipping at the time that I had asked Chef to bake four-and-twenty blackbirds in a pie, just in case. I suppose that’s a simple rule of eating. Be as adventurous as you will, but always keep a comforting favourite to hand, for fear of ending up like my dear sister, or worse, like her deluded progeny.

NEXT TIME: Claudia examines Health Foods.

[Claudia Braün is in conversation with David Turpin.]

Foster’s €3

The essence of this column is cheap. But a cheap pint doesn’t have to mean a bad pint. It is with this in mind that we are including a section on drinking on the bright side of three euro. If you are taste sensitive then turn away now. The sunny side of three euro per pint comes at a cost, the bar maids with hoof dentures, the funeral time music and the refreshing taste of anti-design. This is not Dawson Street country.

Eamon Doran’s, Temple Bar Eamon Doran’s, we all know it.

Think what you may about the godforsaken place but it has still somehow managed to engrain itself in Dublin society. Everyone has drunk there at some stage, nobody actually likes the place, why on earth is it so popular?

In theory, the idea behind Eamon Doran’s is great. It has so

many possibilities - good space, excellent décor, is a place for any aspiring musician to get a gig in, and they sell pizza. Difontain’s pizza, a good pizza which somehow gains credit and also a lack of it from being the brain child of Fun Lovin’ Criminal Huey. Indeed the whole place should be cool due to its connection to him and his busi-

ness partnership with Dermot “In theory, the idea behind Eamon Doran. Yet it Doran’s is great. It has so many possiseems ol’ Huey bilities - good space, excellent décor, is a has tried so hard to make this a place for any aspiring musician to get a really ‘cool’ and gig in, and they sell pizza” ‘happening’ And for all its downfalls we still spot that the whole thing has fallen somehow can’t keep ourselves on its ass. away from that excuse for a beer Eamon Doran’s is congarden lane. If you have been fused. It is nothing like the trendy sucked in to going for that prerock bar that it brands itself as. This going out pint it does somehow tick contrived mess is more like a mixall the right boxes. Those boxes ture between a haven for the most being cheap, cheap and the fact disgusting stag and hen nights who there’s always the opportunity to come to listen to dodgy eighties smoke something a little more libmusic, and awkward pseudo-altererating. native teenagers who can’t get in This once last resort for anywhere else or haven’t the ambirescuing Temple Bar from the sicktion to find anywhere better. And ening depths it has sunk to, has, as you get all this with the addition of expected, failed miserably. Oh and the most pointlessly arrogant there is always the chance of bouncers on the door. bumping into someone you really But the fact of the matter don’t want to see. But hey, whatís is it serves a mean cheap pint. that in the name of cheap booze!

Foster’s for 3 euro is hard to beat.

Huey helps himself to some pizza in Difontain’s

Tuesday November 15th, 2005

15

FOOD & DRINK

Trinity News

Vegetarianism: The Identity Crisis Deirdre Hosford It takes little observation to admit that the Irish diet of the day is one of eccentricities and extremes.

Gone are the culinary Dark Ages of home-farmed foods and famine; times where the only apt title for the fad diet would have been ‘The Potato’. At the dawn of the 21st century, we face a colourful and varied platter of foods and the average earner can easily afford to pick and choose from a buffet of gastronomic experiences. After all, variety is the spice of life.

However, in the face of a saturation of choice, an increasing number of diets are now defined by abstinence or indulgence. Both anorexia and obesity are on a steep incline as we lose grip on the reigns of selfrestraint and self-control.

At the same time, a cult of refusal is emerging. Polar opposites are gathering strength. The stance of vegetarians stands diametrically opposed to the powerful yet self-interested force of Team Atkins. We can now afford to forge our own dietary identity- often without any real concern for the health benefits or disadvantagesand are doing so in our droves.

In the wake of this phenomenon, and coupled with a heightened sense of the personal morality that fuels animal rights movements, vegetarianism has never been as popular or as feasible as it is in the Ireland of today.

This in mind, it is high time we took a closer look at the true identity of vegetarianism; its roots, its shoots and its fruits.

The Origin of the Species Vegetarianism has been common in Hindu countries, since possibly the 2nd millennium BC. The Greek philosopher Pythagoras first began the practice of vegetarianism in

Europe in the 6th century BC. It has been inextricably linked to spirituality and many religions have advocated vegetarianism; Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Hare Krishna to name a few. The word ‘vegetarian’ comes form the Latin word ‘uegetus’ meaning ‘lively’ and is suggestive of the English word ‘vegetable’.

The evolution of these beliefs saw numerous historical figures and great thinkers form the vegetarian alumni. Leonardo Da Vinci wrote in his notebooks, ‘Truly man is the king of beasts, for his brutality exceeds theirs. We live by the death of others: We are burial places!’. Albert Einstein is quoted as saying; ‘Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.’

Percy Bysshe Shelley, Franz Kafka and Mahatma Gandhi were all vegetarians, as was the infamous monster of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. The Smiths have entitled an album ‘Meat is Murder’, singing that eating meat is ‘death without reason, and death without reason is murder’.

The first Vegetarian Society was founded in England in 1847, with the establishment of the Irish Vegetarian Society taking places soon after. Nowadays, vegetarianism is a personal choice for many and is removed from any particular religious beliefs. The exposure of horrific conditions in battery and factory farms, and such scares as the BSE crisis and the potential bird flu pandemic have made people even more wary of the consumption of meat for a myriad of reasons beyond that of general disgust.

Who are YOU ‘Vegetarian’?

Calling

a

Our Favourite Places to go Veggie in Dublin...

1. Cornucopia, Wickow Street, Dublin 2 2. Govindas, Aungier Street, Dublin 2 3. Juice, Georges Street, Dublin 2 The common perception of vegetarianism tends to be fairly black, grey and white. You are a carnivore, a vegetarian or a vegan respectively. However, even these basic definitions are often tossed about lightly and are too reductive.

It is necessary to flesh them out in order to encompass every possible level.

I’m sure we’ve all experienced that confusing moment in conversation where someone states, ‘I’m a vegetarian, but I eat fish’. Even more excruciating, though less common, is the proclamation that, ‘I’m a vegetarian because I don’t eat red meat’. There is a clear line of distinction which indicates a transition into true vegetarianism. The Vegetarian Society of Ireland defines a vegetarian as ‘one who does not consume meat, fish or fowl and who aims to avoid the use and consumption of battery hen eggs and slaughterhouse byproducts in food, clothing, cosmetic and household products’.

Those who reduce their meat consumption in other ways need not have their efforts culled entirely by this definition. There are a delightful variety of near-vegetarian titles to choose from. A Semi-Vegetarian is someone who reduces their meat consumption significantly and they often carry red meat as their sole omission. It is thought that Hitler was of this group, so they are in good company. The term Pesco-Pollo Vegetarian sounds far more prestigious, and means much the same.

Flexitarianism names those con-

sume meat occasionally as their refusal is grounded in a regard for the conditions of animals in factory farms, and not in any particular aversion to the meat consumption.

Freeganism has no real doctrine, but Freegans live their lives through a general concern for the exploitation of the earth, animals and people. Pseudo-Vegetarians are those who profess vegetarianism but make mince meat of it on regular basis.

Once we have entered the world of vegetarianism, there are more important distinct species to be considered. The most popular form of vegetarianism is LactoOvo Vegetarianism. This diet consists of both egg and milk products.

Lacto vegetarians do not eat eggs but accept milk products, while Ovo Vegetarians refuse milk products but consume eggs.

We now reach the leafy undergrowth of the most dedicated abstainers. The Vegan will refuse all meat, egg and milk products as well as avoiding animal products such as leather and cosmetics. A Dietary Vegan will display all of the above habits, with the exception of the latter.

Finally, if we are lucky, we may encounter the most rare breeds of all. Fruitarians, or fructarians, will only eat plant matter that can be obtained without killing the parent plant. Fruitarianism usually arises from a holistic philosophy, and the most obedient followers will only consume foods that have already fallen from the parent plant. Dangerously enough, it has

not been decided if it is actually possible to avoid malnutrition when executing this diet. A fairly quirky character in the film ‘Notting Hill’ has immortalized this diet.

Other strict diets include the Raw Food Diet (vegan food which has not been heated above 46.7’C as this destroys enzymes); the Macrobiotic Diet (spiritually based and consists solely of whole grains and beans); and Natural Hygiene (a diet of raw vegan foods).

Taking all of these variations into account, it is no wonder that the true nature of the human herbivore is a grey area for many people, and it is this lack of clarity that results in some fishy forms of vegetarianism.

is clearly labeled as being ‘Suitable for Vegetarians’ before it is consumed. Some types of cheese, such as parmesan, do not have vegetarian friendly alternatives available for purchase in Ireland.

Many brands of sweet use gelatine in their manufacture. It also used to set desserts. Gelatine is a jelly made from boiling animal parts such as bone, ligament, tendon or skin. Another animal byproduct called cochineal is sometimes used to colour sweets.

Shockingly enough, vegetarians cannot eat Bassett’s Jelly Babies as they are produced using gelatine.

Alcoholic drinks pose a singular problem in themselves. At present, producers of alcoholic drinks are not bound by the law to state all of their ingredients. Fining agents such as isinglass (made from the bladders of some freshwater fish) are used in the clarification process. The good news is that only a small trace of the fining agents are left at the end of the production

process. However, it is still almost impossible to be sure that an alcoholic beverage is suitable for vegetarians. One drink that is definitely unsuitable is the homegrown favourite Guinness. It may be good for you, but it certainly is not any good for vegetarians. Guinness use isinglass in their product as well as the stated ingredients of hops, barley yeast and water. Vegetarian friendly wine is even more elusive.

A full list of drinks approved by the UK Vegetarian Society is available at www. vegsoc.org/info/vegbeers.htrnl. However Budweiser, Harp, Heineken and our very own Buttery favourite Tuborg have been given the all clear.

Once we are fully informed of our position within or, indeed, outside of the vegetarian movement, it is our own responsibility to make sure that the products we buy do not contain animalbased by-products. Only then can we adopt the popular identity that has become The Irish Vegetarian.

The Traps and Pitfalls of Today’s Products For those of us who choose to thread softly along the food chain, life is complicated by a labyrinth of mislabeling and misinformation.

Assuming a vegetarian identity does not always mean that you are avoiding animal products entirely.

Animal-based additives are sometimes overlooked, or not even mentioned, making it difficult for anyone to commit to pure vegetarianism.

In the manufacture of cheese, rennet is often used to curdle the milk. Rennet usually has its source in the stomach juices of animals such as calves. A microbial alternative is available and it is therefore important that all cheese

Make Polystyrene History The Trinity Greens strike back - Amy Colla reports This week, the Trinity Greens are running a campaign to stop the use of Polystyrene cups on campus. If some of you got a sense of déjà vu, it’s because you HAVE seen this before. In Hilary Term 04’ the TCD Greens ran a campaign to raise awareness of the ills of Polystyrene, the end goal being the removal of Polystyrene cups from all catering outlets on campus. Clearly, it would seem the greens failed in their mission.

Wrong: the campaign was successful, attracting a lot of student support and it lead to a motion being passed in the SU. The SU was mandated to lobby the catering department, headed by Eugene McGovern, to stop their use of Polystyrene. Which catering did… for the rest of the academic year, bringing them back over the summer!

Perhaps they thought

students wouldn’t notice, and they were generally right. It seems that most students aren’t aware of the damage polystyrene causes to both the environment, and more importantly to most, human health. To break things down: Polystyrene causes problems at all stages of its lifecycle. In production, toxic dioxins are released into the atmosphere, whilst using up oil, a finite resource. In the consumption stage, studies show that polystyrene cups weigh less after use.

What this means is that Styrene has migrated into the liquid, making it taste awful, and possibly causing you nerve damage. As well, it simulates oestrogen- men, you don’t want that do you? As to its carcinogenity and long-term effects, researchers aren’t sure.Its carcinogenic status has been raised from 3 (probably harmless) to 2b (possible carcinogenity). Finally,

Escape From The Butter y...

Anyone for coffee?

the “hippy Green” bit: polystyrene is not recycled in Ireland. It is 95% air and does not biodegrade…ever. This means that it is taking up valuable landfill space, and will be doing so for thousands of years, slowly releasing its chemicals into the environment.

After a meeting with the Trinity Greens and John Mannion, Mr. McGovern agreed to allow students the choice between paper and polystyrene as of Monday the 14th. The catch is, it will cost 8 cents more for the paper cups. Not to be cynical, but many students will choose to pollute their bodies and environment for the sake of 8 cents- student life ain’t cheap! Mr McGovern is concerned about Polystyrene himself. He recycles religiously at home, he told the Greens. The issue is one of cost, but he admits that he will have to make the switch to more environ-

mentally-friendly options eventually.

The Greens want the change now, with a full ban on polystyrene on campus. Trinity could lead the way, showing that there is still some of the good old 60’s idealism left in students. Even if you’re not concerned about the cause, you might be annoyed about the fact that student opinion has not been respected on this issue. What you can do, is come to the Greens’ stand this week in the arts block and sign the petition against polystyrene cups. In the words of John Mannion… “Go Greens!”

We’ve all been there. You’ve got an hour between lectures; coffee is needed and cheap coffee at that. The Buttery calls. Many students live deludedly in the belief that this glorified mess hall is the nearest place on campus for coffee and other (legal) stimulants. This is where I come in; over the next while (or at least as long as the editor allows it) I shall endeavor to help you all discover that there is more to life than the ‘B’ word.

This issue, it is the turn of ‘Dunne and Crescenzi’ of South Frederick St. Where? South Frederick St (i.e., the street before Dawson St.).

How far away? 2 minutes exactly from the Arts Block entrance off Nassau St. Waiting time to be served? About a minute or so, depending on busyness.

Décor? Intimate, comfy wooden chairs, wine-bottle-lined walls.

Clientele? Ryan Tubridy types, well dressed women and some very pretty studenty boys…..

Price range? Coffee from about €1.50, and if you ask nicely, they’ll give you a free jug of water.

Attractiveness of the waiting staff? The men all rate quite highly on the attract-o-meter, there were no females when I was there, but Italians tend to be quite aesthetically pleasing at the best of times.

To Dunne and Cresenzi

Is it quiet enough to write a last-minute essay? Yes, even at busy times there are some secluded tables in the corner.

Unexpected perks? They sell peach ice tea by the bottle- and it’s not made by evil evil nestle.

Unexpected downside? It’s directly opposite the P.D.’s office, the members of which kind of cancel out the attractiveness of the waiting staff.

16

Tuesday November 15, 2005

Travel Editor: Alix O’Neill

Trinity News TRAVEL Turkish Delight on the Midnight Express Harry Johnstone and Miles Amoore brave hitchhiking throughTurkey So, there we were in Istanbul, a city tentatively poised on one of the world’s most predominant religious fault-lines.

Although Turkey is a chiefly Muslim country, its cosmopolitan Mecca seems to highlight the convergence of both East and West. In the market place this translates into fake Nike shoes and Reebok trainers placed conspicuously along-

the morning. Without a guidebook and with the intention of trekking to Van Ahlat about 40kms away, our earlier ecstasy slowly drained from our system – comedown vibes surrounded us. Our ‘dig it’ mentality was in the process of being jeopardised by our poor sense of planning and hasty decision making.

Moreover, the air had turned

Turkish.

Back in Istanbul, we had decided that, from Bolu to Ankara, we would spend no more than 20,000,000 YTL. And so it was that we walked away, full of remorse that swiftly diminished with the rising of the golden sphere over Van Atma. The hitch had begun.

We met many char-

“Once out of the bazaar’s maze-like system of narrowly weaving streets, leaving behind the smells of exotic spices and the blended sounds of Turkish and European music, it is hard to imagine you are anywhere else but in an Islamic nation” side Nargile pipes, exotic spices, Turkish delight and old men selling Islamic prayer stones and the Chadores mandatory for entry into the city’s many mosques.

Once out of the bazaar’s maze-like system of narrowly weaving streets, leaving behind the smells of exotic spices and the blended sounds of Turkish and European music, it is hard to suppose that you are anywhere else but in an Islamic nation. Despite the fact that the locals’ ears remain unveiled by Islamic traditional customs, the wails of the muezzin’s ‘Allah Akbar’, which resound from the minarets of Istanbul’s magnificent network of mosques, cannot fail to leave their impression on the unassuming visitor, adding to the wholly Islamic experience of wandering the peopled streets.

With this melange of style and newly acquired accessories, we finally left the hot night air of Istanbul with glee in our hearts and a football strapped to our pack. So it was with some sadness that we realised our bus would drop us off at Bolu at four in

cold and neither of us had armed ourselves with anything that even closely resembled a jumper, having decided in IIreland that such an accessory would be wasted on our intended countries.

To our disbelief, a lone shark taksi decided to take us the 40 clicks to the Van for 6,000,000 YTL (€4).

However, upon arrival and, after a journey with the words ‘dig it’ rekindled until they were being repeated often and sometimes consecutively, we were informed that we had in fact misheard our conductor: “60,000,000 (€40)”, was counted out on his fingers.

We had almost expected as much – our earlier disbelief being founded on some correct premise – and yet neither of us had spoken about this fear. “We are sorry”, we repeated, hand held over hearts in sincere apology at what must have appeared a blatant disregard for normal custom. This oriental apology was greeted with an Eastern cluck and a shake of the head. The man farted crudely at least twice whilst he wagged his finger at us and ranted in incomprehensible

acters. Some would leer at you. They turn down the Turkish music that had been wailing for the last three hours and, with wide-eyed ecstasy, hiss the word, “Chaaai!” and ground at a teahouse. Mustafa was no more than a sex-crazed maniac.

We could see it in his eyes even before he started ranting about Russian 16 year old prostitutes – his wife was dud in bed. With eyes glued to the straight road ahead, our broken conversations meander.

We talked of the PKK and, within minutes, our testosterone junkie whipped out his 15 mm and started wafting it above his head. He was evidently trying to express him-

The mosque in Istanbul This is what the hitch is all about. Time spent standing at dusty crossroads.

Humorously inane conversations with drivers who seem to

“We talked of the PKK and, within minutes, our testosterone junkie whipped out his 15 mm and started wafting it above his head” self but panic had taken a hold of us and we held out our hands in an attempt to extract the gun from his clutch. He complied immediately. We pretended to admire the steel, relieved that no shots were fired.

be under the spell of speed.

The overriding sense that you are involved in the country, exposed to its natural forces and slave to its personal whims. In a country like Turkey, this form of oppression feels liberating, especial-

ly when you find yourself amongst breathtaking mountains. Our trans-Turkish route had led us to the foot of mount Nemrut, which casts its volcanic shadow over Van Golu, an enormous lake in the east of the country. Having spent several hours climbing it, we found ourselves staring into a prehistoric crater, allowing us the sensation that we were as necromancers glancing backward in time.

Leaving yourself open to the forces of natural law does have its downside.

Spontaneous and hasty decision making, forced into

implementation by your mode of transport, can sometimes lead you to places of little interest. But then this is half the enjoyment – not knowing what’s next and subjecting the self to the random and arbitrary nature of the road.

Along the way we trailed on the carts of tractors, sweeping slowly through eastern Anatolia with wellwishing old Turks who waived us through fields of hay being scythed by villagers.

Us; filled with the huge raw excitement of being there, he; with swollen pride in his young Western cargo.

Eschewing any belief in determinism, we would start each day with the highest of expectations and were never disappointed by what met us. For sure, some days saw our plans altered as we took on trucks that were not headed to out intended destinations.

Yet somehow it always worked out – we would find ourselves among breathtaking scenery, taking routes seldom travelled by backpackers. Patnos had never seen tourists before.

You may miss the ride but never mitch the hitch!

Bright Summer Nights In Ecuador Part two of Alyson Mc Evoy’s South American Adventure My first visit to the Ecuadorian coastline was to a small fishing village named Puerto Lopez. It was the summer season and the sun shone out in full force each and every day.

My three day weekend in Puerto Lopez, the first of many to this same place during my time in Ecuador, remains firm in my memory as the best of my life thus far. That first day we found a fantastic little café, ‘The Blue Whale Café’, serving apple pancakes and maple syrup for breakfast. We kayaked out to a little beach, iinaccessible by land, escaped the vein popping heat by snorkelling in its cool waters and picnicked among the rocks. On a little exploration further along the beach we came across what looked like an enormous slug from a distance but turned out to be a brown seal.

Equally confused at our appearance as we were at his, he let out a long hoarse bawl and we moved quickly on! Later that day we gathered on the beach for sunset (the sun goes down religiously at 6pm every day of the year in Ecuador, since the Equator runs directly through it ). The sky radiated orange, pink, blue and finally purple hues for a full twenty minutes until it lowered out of sight on the horizon.

My arrival in Puerto Lopez was less blissful, I have to admit. My friends and I arrived at the bus station in Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador, ready to board a bus which we had been informed was leaving at 5.30pm.

On finding out that it had in fact left at 3pm, we began wandering around the station in full faith that another bus would be going our way. After half an hour of unsuccessful wandering we decided to board a bus that would lleave us

just two hours from our destination at a junction called ‘Jipijapa’ (pronounced hippy happa). On arrival in Jipijapa (not at all a hippy or happening place I was

offered sea kayaking, hiking in nearby national parks, snorkelling, biking and visits to offshore islands populated by rare bird species.

“So reluctant was I to leave this remarkable country that I returned to the place where the sun shone the brightest and the memories of fun were most vivid...” disappointed to find out) at 1am in the morning, we found ourselves confronted on all sides by eager taxi men, warning us of the dangers for young foreigners at this time of night in such a lonely place and offering a ride to Puerto Lopez for the knock down price of $50! We obviously weren’t the first and wouldn’t be the last to miss the bus to Puerto Lopez.

After a bit of flicking of yellow locks and pale eyelids, the price was moderately lowered and we set off in the rickety taxi.

Every bump shook the car forcibly and the dull buzzing sound of the engine made conversation impossible. We sat for two hours, bumping up and down in our seats and stifling giggles.

We arrived at about 4am and the village was like a ghost town. The scarcity of street lights and the swish of the sea in the distance made the place seem eerie and ominous. The streets were unpaved and merely dusted with a sandy gravel and rusty pick up trucks and bicycles leaned jaded along the sides of the street.

It wasn’t until the next morning that we were able to fully appreciate the charms of the place. The sun shone and it continued to do so for the duration of our stay (and months longer too). We wandered along the main street and were

I returned to Puerto Lopez for the last week of my stay in Ecuador. So reluctant was I to leave this remarkable country that II returned to the place where the sun shone the brightest and the memories of fun were most vivid, one last time. Not least in this decision was the whale watching season having begun, an upcoming full moon party and a special someone waiting for my return there.

The full moon party was happening in an even smaller village than Puerto Lopez called Montanita, just two hours away. A seriously laid back place, Montanita was filled to the brim with hut style bars that were packed to capacity with quirky bamboo seats and tables. The main party kicked off on Saturday night but the celebrations had been going on all week and continued well into the following week.

People sat around fires on the beach in open circles sharing food, drink and cigarettes filled with all sorts of interesting ‘stuff’ ( dried banana leaves being one of the milder fillings!). Couples and singles salsa’d through the streets and impromptu dancing circles were formed, breaking gently away and regrouping elsewhere to a new tune. It was a kind of Utopia for a night.

“Perhaps it was the sheer force of them, their enormity, their beauty and elegance which made us seem insignificant- weightless and powerless in comparison” On my final day in Puerto Lopez I ventured out to try and catch a glimpse of the whales which frequent the section of the coast adjacent to Puerto Lopez each year for a limited amount of

time. Much to my delight I got more than I had bargained for. I got not only to glimpse these spectacular mammals from afar, but for about half an hour they allowed us to accompany them as they dived

and plunged through the waves.

The murmur of chatter that had been audible on the boat as we searched the horizon for signs of splashing, instantly dispersed and an awe- inspired silence descended. For some reason it was quite emotional to watch them lunge and leap through the waves.

Perhaps it was the sheer force of them, their enormity, their beauty and elegance which made us seem insignificant- weightless and pow-

erless in comparison. There were more than a few eyes glistening as we watched them in silence and wonder.

After such an experience, I wonder if I’ll ever be able to step foot on an Irish beach again!

Next issue, Alyson heads for the Amazon.

Tuesday, November 15th, 2005

Careers Editor: Emma Hutchinson

Trinity News

17

CAREERS

Career Focus: Acting In the first of a new series, Myles Gutkin looks at Acting as a career. Young thespians take note...

The Job Actors use their body, face and voice to communicate with an audience. A writer creates loose structures of story, dialogue and movement, which a director uses as a guide to mould the actors’ appearance and sound into a play or film.

Acting has long been associated with a glamorous lifestyle and wealth, but the vast majority of thespians achieve neither of these. This is a career that must be done for the love of the story, the dialogue, the performance, and the audience. Those who enjoy communication in a vibrant and creative way may find acting a very satisfying career.

In Ireland, the majority of actors work in theatres, where they can experience the thrill of live performance. Days full of character exploration and rehearsal, followed by nights of anxiety become the norm for live actors, who only have one take to get their performance right on the night.

Film work is less common in this country, with few international films produced here, relative to our European or American neighbours. There’s also a tendency for major Irish films to cast foreign actors making the job market even less accessible to up-andcoming Irish stars.

Getting there Experience on stage is essential before deciding on a career in acting. If you are new to drama, it may be best to start by auditioning for a small part in an amateur play, musical, or other live performance. The Players Society here at Trinity is a great place to start, with dozens of

amateur plays performed each year.

Requests for auditions can often be found on the notice board in front of the Samuel Beckett Theatre near Aras an Phiarsaigh.

If the spotlight makes your pulse quicken just the right amount, and you wish there were more shows when the run is over, you may have found your vocation.

However, a successful career in drama requires that you have personal and physical attributes, which directors want to work with, and audiences want to watch.

Trinity College offers a three-year acting degree in conjunction with the Abbey Theatre, which is an excellent steppingstone onto the Irish stage and screen. A small class is selected following rigorous audition. Year one helps students develop the personal skills and core knowledge required to interpret drama using several dramatic methods. The second year introduces the aspect of performance, and the development of acting techniques. In their final year students are prepared for involvement in complete productions, incorporating regular performances, and culminating in a final public show in the Abbey or Peacock theatres.

The Gaiety School of Acting offers more accessible courses, both part-time and full.

Younger actors can also begin training here, and Gaiety workshops are a great way to explore an interest in acting as a career.

To succeed in the performance industry, it’s essential to develop production skills. Start in amateur productions and try to join a prestigious theatre company. Get as much relevant experience as possible. Study under actors and coaches you respect and with whom you can relate. Make sure that you learn from each director

under whom you work.

Keep working and auditioning. Remember that auditions aren’t judgements of your personal value. Auditions are about how well you can represent a particular character. Keep applying, if you love the job, and with effort you should be able to find a niche to fill.

Personal qualities It’s hard to be a successful actor, and very few will have regular employment. There are however, a few traits and skills that might make you more attractive to directors.

A distinctive physical appearance will help audiences and directors remember you, whether it’s your stunning beauty or crooked nose.

Literacy skills will help you explore related works and critiques of plays to better understand a part for which you might be auditioning.

Strong voice and voice control are essential to permit continuous use of the voice, and the mimicry of varied voice types.

Singing ability is advantageous in many roles, and allows for parts in musical theatre.

An actor should be a keen observer of human behaviour, to allow accurate interpretation of different people and lifestyles.

Confidence on stage must be developed, regardless of offstage persona.

A good memory will help with the memorisation of lines.

Physical fitness is valuable, for long periods of very active rehearsal.

An actor should be able to survive on very low incomes for extended periods if necessary.

Movement and dance ability will help an actor to be more expressive with his/her body, and makes a performer more pleasant to watch.

The Example Cillian Murphy is an example of an Irish actor who has had great success both on stage and on screen.

This author would call him one of the best looking men in the film industry, with strong features, delicate fair skin and sparkling blue eyes that hint at the explosive volatility which he brings to so many of the characters he plays.

While studying Law in county Cork where he was born in 1974, Cillian became involved in a local production with Concordia Theatre, and subsequently joined their acting workshops and tour.

The performance that launched him into theatre success was Concordia’s production of ‘Disco Pig’ in which he played the violently explosive male lead to excellent reviews. He played the same role in the quite successful screen adaptation in 2002. His feature film debut in 1998 was in ‘The Tale of Sweetie Barrett’, and has led to substantial roles in the highly successful ‘Intermission’ in 2003, and ‘Girl with a pearl Earring’ also in 2003. Successful theatre productions in which he acted include ‘On the Edge’ in 2000 and ‘Zonad’ in 2003.

His is a career that was initiated almost spontaneously by his success with a local theatre company in a small production. It should serve as an example to those who feel a desire to be on stage, that they should give it a try see if they have an aptitude. It may be that you are just what the industry is looking for. It would be foolish to think that his career grew without great effort on his part to improve his skills and develop his talents, but his story tells us that it can be done.

Could you be the next Cillian Murphy?

Career Resources Visit our Careers Advisory Service at www.tcd.ie/Careers

You may find something interesting at www.showbizireland.com

And The Gaiety’s programme at www.gaietyschool.com

Look into Trinity’s acting programme at www.tcd.ie/courses

For jobs and news in the UK www.thestage.co.uk

Your Online Career Options By now the Internet has become an integral part of our lives, we shop on it, we socialise on it, we work on it, but how many of us are researching our career on it? Those of you who are will already know about the excellent careers websites, internship, work experience, and voluntary opportunities to be found on the Internet. Those of you who aren't, read on as Emma Hutchinson gives a run down of some of the best.

postgraduate study in Ireland. It includes a course search, information on types of courses, entry requirements and deadlines, help and funding and studying abroad.

Furthermore student profiles give you an idea of what postgraduate study is like from a real life perspective.

www.tcd.ie/Careers

www.nightcourses.com

This site should be your first stop when doing any careers research on the web. Tailored specifically for Trinity students, here you can find careers advice by year, careers events listings both within Trinity itself and across the UK and Ireland and information and links to the VACWORK and SURE programs. There is also a wealth of careers advice, a searchable vacancy database and tailored information for individual courses. The ‘Your Degree What Next?’ section, currently being updated, is an excellent feature that allows you to explore the skills gained during your course, decide what career would suit you, see what Trinity graduates in your course have gone on to do, explore job profiles and gain information on further study.

Furthermore there are lots of resources for working abroad, internships and postgraduate study, but even after all that if you still can’t find what you are looking for you can now e-mail the Online Advice Centre with your query.

www.doctorjob.com This website is one of the most extensive careers sites on the Internet, but is also very easy to use. Run by GTI publications, who publish the Target series of careers booklets that you will have seen around college, it is divided into five sections, Advice, Jobs, Community, Courses and Sectors and provides dedicated advice from

fresher’s to post grads and beyond.

The homepage opens with a summary of work experience, vacancies and upcoming deadlines and also has useful little tips on everything from CV's to assessment centres. In the jobs section you can search for vacancies by sector and work experience by sector and/ or region. The courses section has a similar search facility that allows you to search for undergraduate, postgraduate and professional courses by area of work or subject.

What stands out about this site, however, are the advice and community sections. The advice section provides general careers advice, job descriptions and sector specific advice, but what marks it out from others are features such as graduate profiles, ask the expert and career stories.

Graduate profiles are searchable by both sector and/or institution and provide a comprehensive insight into the reality of working life in your chosen career. Career stories are submitted by users of the site and provide a similar insight, but cover more specific aspects of post-university life such as what it is like to work in Paris or take a year out to do voluntary work. ‘Ask the expert’ provides an unrivalled opportunity to ask leading professionals from a variety of sectors anything you want to know about your chosen career. Every month there are two new experts and the site has an archive of all previous Ask the Expert questions and answers so there will always be something that is relevant to your particular interests.

If asking the experts seems too daunting, however, the site also provides an opportunity on its community section advice forum to ask others who have been through or are going through the same experiences for their advice and opinions. Furthermore the site even has a 'Moan Zone' where you can let off steam about the difficulties of job hunting, advancing in you career or even choosing a career. This section is particularly useful as it gives a true insight into the realities of looking for a job after university and where your qualifications get you other than the smiling successes in careers brochures. The site also boasts an events database of all the upcoming careers events in the UK.

www.gradireland.com If it is careers events closer to home that you are interested in then this is the site for you. Providing a list of student events in Ireland, this site also contains a comprehensive careers advice section covering topics such as choosing a career, diversity and what graduate recruiters in Ireland are looking for.

It also has sections on CV’s, work experience and sector specific advice in addition to a job search facility.

www.postgradireland.com Linked to www.gradireland.com, this site gives you all the information you need when considering

Nightcourses.com describes itself as “Ireland’s leading resource for evening classes and adult education” and is a fantastic site containing a wealth of information on part time and distance courses covering a range of creative and non-academic subjects. If you want to improve your language or IT skills or you’re interested in creative writing or fashion make up then this is the site for you!

access to once you have registered.

From here you can create an online CV, have it checked before employers see it and e-mail a careers consultant for free, confidential advice about jobs and studying in the UK. You can also use the prospects planner to find out what job would suit you and sign up to receive postgraduate study and research vacancies, free of charge, by text or e-mail. www.get.hobsons.co.uk Similar to Prospects the Hobson’s Student Service enables you to receive free and personalised careers advice via e-mail, but that

is not all there is to this website. It also contains advice, a careers events calendar covering the UK and Ireland and a message board.

The highlight of this site though is the careers search which is slightly more advanced than those on the other sites and allows you to search for a graduate employer, current vacancy, work experience placement or professional training organization by occupation area, job description and location. For those considering work or further study in the UK the site also hosts city guides. www.milkround.co.uk

Not strictly speaking a careers website, but more of a graduate recruitment site, milkround.co.uk warrants inclusion because of it’s Zones section. Covering diversity, further study, internships, charity, gap year, recruitment agencies and lifestyle it provides you with all the information you need when considering your career. The worldwide internship search is very comprehensive and extremely useful as are the gap year and volunteer opportunities listings. Furthermore signing up for their regular current vacancies e-mails will give you an insight into the opportunities available within your chosen career.

www.prospects.ac.uk Another UK site, www.prospects.ac.uk provides careers information covering a variety of topics from postgraduate study and working abroad to leaving or changing your course. It also has sector specific communities that are further divided into Get a Job, Further Study, Careers Advice and News and Features sections.

What is interesting about prospects, however, is that it provides additional features such as information on alternative careers with your degree, external links to subject specific careers websites and a breakdown of what graduates in particular fields go on to do.

Furthermore there are weekly chats with leading industry professionals (and an archive of all previous chats) plus there is always an opportunity to discuss issues with other students and graduates.

The unique feature of this site, however, is the My Prospects section which you gain

Your career could be just a few clicks away on the internet

18

SU & Societies Editor: Enda Hargaden

Tuesday November 15, 2005

Trinity News

SU & SOCIETIES

Rip-Off Ireland: Myth, or RIP for this Govt?

Four months after Eddie Hobbs’mega-successful Rip-Off Republic TV series, the fall out continues. We asked representatives from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s Trinity branches to air their sides of the debate Ógra Fianna Fáil’s Trinity Branch: Vice-Chair: Marianne Butler I had a certain amount of respect for the wee Cork man, as a former bank official and a qualified financial advisor. I have annoyed the hell out of friends and family giving them the “Show Me The Money!” treatment. I get them to cut up their credit cards, transfer balances, opt for cards with cheaper APRs and tell them to go to their local credit unions.

Those who take my advice save big time! I like to think of myself as the female Leinster version of wee Eddie.

However I was more than dismayed by Eddie’s programme Rip Off Republic this summer. In this programme he accused the government of allowing the private sector to exploit consumers, of levying stealth taxes, and of financial mismanagement (as well as doing strange things with nappies!). However as the man himself has admitted, his show did not intend to be an objective assessment of all of the facts. I believe that when looked at on balance, this government has done an enormous amount to protect the consumer, reduce the tax burden, and deliver world class infrastructure.

This government has introduced a range of measures to help protect consumers; the establishment of the IFSRA, the Insurance Ombudsman, and the establishment of PIAB have all helped to

reduce costs and deliver greater choice for the consumer. In introducing these measures this government have faced down powerful vested interests in the private sector.

One of the central claims made by Eddie is that “low-tax Ireland is a myth”. To support this he points to the range of charges and fees that people have to pay for services such as refuse collection, the excise levied on drink and tobacco and stampduty on property. However even when these are included the amount of revenue collected from all sources in the state, as a percentage of GDP is one of the lowest in Europe. While Eddie might decry the level of excise on a bottle of Chablis, thanks to this government more people can afford a bottle of wine, or a new car, a foreign holiday, and restaurant meals than at anytime in the history of the state.

But what makes this government’s tax-policy so remarkable is that despite being low, it has also funded the development of outstanding infrastructure. The introduction of the Luas, the miles of new motorway, and the massive capital expenditure in hospitals and schools, have all been achieved while reducing the national debt, introducing SSIAs and the National Pension Reserve Fund, and raising the level of support

for students, the elderly and the disadvantaged. Many of the allegations made by Eddie were based on voodoo-economics. It is inevitable that the price-tag of a project changes and grows as it progresses from being an estimate to a contract price, but with the introduction of fixed price con-

tracts t h e government has moved to limit the State’s exposure to cost over-runs.

It is easy for us as a generation to forget just how lucky we are. We are probably the first generation in Irish history who have no fear of emigration, who live in a nation with fullemployment, good public finances, and improving infrastructure. We are the first generation who will

live with peace both on this island and in Europe, we get to grow up in an Ireland

Christianity in what is now, a postmodern society.

Main Meetings take place on a Thursday evening in Regent House at 7.15pm. The purpose of such meetings is to provide answers to the questions that are being asked of Christianity today. For example, on Thursday 17th November the topic will be, “Religion - More harm than good?” Other talks that we have held were on popular topics such as on the extraordinar-

In the end, over 800,000 of us ended up spending our summer nights watching Eddie Hobbs, a latter-day eco

Eddie Hobbs - The Man, The Legend that is proud, confident, and secure – if the price of that is electronic voting, PPARS, and having to listen to Eddie Hobbs ramble on, it’s no Rip-off.

Society Focus: The C.U. The Christian Union (CU), with some 200 members, is arguably one of the most active societies in College. However, what is “the CU”? In short, the CU is a non-denominational group of students from a diversity of backgrounds who, collectively, believe in Jesus Christ, and in the reality of his death and resurrection. It is on this premise that the CU aims to challenge all students to individually consider the relevance and significance of

Young Fine Gael’s Trinity Branch: Chair: Patrick Horan

ily popular novel ‘The Da Vinci Code’.

The CU also holds several lunch-time talks throughout the year, consisting of a talk on a particular issue followed by a period of discussion (free lunch included!).

The first of these will be held on Wednesday 23rd November at 1pm in the GMB addressing the issue of a loving God and the unprecedented number of horrific natural disasters this year. These talks are open to all

members of the college community, and the CU invites students to challenge their views on religion.

There are also small group bible studies throughout the week, weekly prayer meetings, a weekend away, an allIreland student conference and an annual CU ball! If you’d like to know more about the CU, or just get in touch, visit www.trinitycu .net or email Stuart Anderson on anderssd@tcd.ie.

The Hist dumb it down a little...

The College Historical Society displaying a new side to their debating skills last week

nomic televangelist on an unsophisticated, cheaply produced show. The reason that the haute couture Frasier, Sex and the City watching Irish television

audience turned on to him in such droves was that he struck a chord. The man tapped into the pulsing vein of Irish society – the fact that we live in a rip-off culture and that nothing is being done about it. Hobbs got his ammunition for the show from a ludicrous comment made by the Minister for Arts and To u r i s m , J o h n

O’Donoghue when he said that Rip-Off Ireland was a myth and that the country was a high value place to live and visit. Fine Gael had found quite the opposite on its popular ripoff.ie website, which was receiving thousands of hits every week gauging public dissatisfaction with what people saw (rightly as Hobbs has shown) as a culture of ripoffs and exploitation.

These rip-offs

included the prices of cars, of groceries, of insurance, of taxis, of banking charges, of cinema tickets, of childminders, of houses, of public transport, down to the most vital thing of all – the huge disparity between the regions in the price of a pint. For example, a pint of the black stuff will cost you €4.90 in Dublin and €3.55 in Tipperary. These are areas, and there are hundreds more, where it really is significantly more expensive to live in Ireland than it is to live in most other countries on the planet. To highlight this fact, for example it is eight times more expensive for a 21 year old male driver to get car insurance here than it is in Germany.

But what really irritates people about the Rip-Off Republic and what Hobbs highlighted most successfully was the Government’s utter and complete incompetence in dealing with this matter.

Indeed the question he asked and Fine Gael had been asking for years was how could the Government resolve the rip-off culture when they were in fact the main cause of it.

This Government has introduced 34 stealth taxes since it came to power in 1997. It has imposed or increased hidden charges on countless things, from old favourites like petrol and booze to new things like a €40 levy on everyone’s bank account. These

charges are not just minor taxes here and there. Last year VRT took in almost €2.7bn in revenue, this from a charge the EU Commission has serious reservations about the legality of.

The Government has allowed for massive increases in VHI fees, college registration, television licences. It refused for years to abolish the groceries order which adds €500 a year to the cost of family life for no logical purpose whatsoever.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, it is this Government which is responsible for the culture of bad value for money rampant nowadays. It cannot harangue industry into ending rip-offs when it squanders vast sums of taxpayer’s money (€165m on a useless payroll system for the HSE, a €52m e-voting system so untransparent that Iran would be ashamed of it) and allows massive over-runs on motorways, on the LUAS, on the Port Tunnel, only to announce that Rip-Off Ireland is a myth frightening away Americans.

The Rip-Off is frightening because it is real. It is causing people to borrow to levels never before imaginable. It is facilitated by a Government wallowing in its own ineptitude, too removed from reality that it doesn’t realise that Fine Gael are right and that the Rip-Off Republic threatens us all.

SU Council Needs More Personality, Less Bureaucracy Christine Bohan reports on the first Students Union Council of the Year The crowd were restless. The murmurs were getting louder. It was the 28th (!) election of the evening and we were still only about half way through the agenda.

The Chair was demanding order. 'Er guys, come on, can we have order here please, I know it's taking a while but we're getting through it. It'll all be over soon'.

Reps were coming and going.

Some went out for a smoke, safe in the knowledge that they'd be able to piece together whatever they missed upon their return. Others made use of the vending machines outside the lecture theatre.

Speakers at the podium had to raise their voices and ask for silence before speaking.

It was an odd first Council of the year. Slightly messy. There was no grand narrative, no arc, nothing to keep the viewer watching. A few interesting moments but a few frustrating ones as well.

It started out as it was to go on - delving straight into business, with little in the way of explanation. This could be down to the reps - whenever something difficult was being explained, the speaker would tell Council that it was a complicated issue but the gist of it was was simple. Did they understand? Council would stare blankly back, so this was taken as understood that they both heard and understood.

Discussion papers were moved up to be the first items on the agenda.

There was one from the President on the USI Constitutional Review and one from the Education Officer on Convenors for all of the Schools that have come into existence because of restructuring. Both were straightforward enough, coming complete with Powerpoint presentations.

Elections for the 23 Schools Convenors were next. Both the Chair and

the Education Officer emphasised the importance of filling all of these positions, as Convenors sit on the Executive of their School and in most cases, are the only student representative at them. Some were filled - some were even contested (well, two of them anyway). 8 out of the 23 didn't have a single candidate for them, so they'll be held over until the next

‘Kicked out of SU Council? Was this a first?...’

Council.

The procession of elections continued - Library Committee, Education Committee, Student Health Service Committee, Careers Advisory Service Committee... For the vast majority of them, the exact number of people were proposed as there were numbers of positions. This is a time-honoured Council tradition, especially when there’s loads of elections and there’s a risk of people getting bored.

Then came the most hotly contested ticket of the evening - the Chapel Committee. Yes folks, forget about the trifling Education, Publicity or Welfare Committees, or the number of School Convenors that didn't have even a single candidate run for them. The Chapel Committee produced 5 candidates for just two posititions. Two of these dropped out after an impassioned speech by one candidate on the importance of the role and how it shouldn't be taken up by just any ol' committee-climber. One gave a speech saying he was running for a laugh and not to vote for him. The remaining three gave strong speeches, explaining just why they were most worthy of the coveted role.

The one who gave the impassioned

speech didn't get elected.

There was a slight kerfuffle at the back, as the Trinity News Editor was asked to leave by the Electoral Commission (Kicked out of SU Council?

Was this a first?) but even this failed to put a halt to the onslsaught of elections.

Ents Committee was contested, as it always it, by people with their eye on the sabbatical position in the elections next year.

The one motion of the evening was more of a non-motion. It became a non-motion because the Electoral Commission deemed it unconstitutional.

The non-motion had been about extending the amount of time speakers have at the podium, to allow for fuller discussions and debates - it was overruled because the decision on how long people have to speak is ultimately up to the Chair of Council. Despite not being allowed, a full discussion followed over the merits or otherwise of the motion. An angry young rep walked out, instantly providing the most memorable moment of the evening.

Finally there was the Officer reports from the five sabbats competing with each other to file the longest report (Stephanie, the Welfare Officer, pipped Dónal, the Education Officer to the post with 7 pages to his 5). And that was it, first Council of the year over after 2 hours. First Councils are always a bit odd - reps don't know each other and are a bit wary about speaking out until they get a bit more used to the workings of Council.

The lack of motions meant there was little in the way of debate or discussion, so more technical things, like all the elections took up most of the time. The debate on the non-motion thing was the most interesting part of the evening. Does this bode badly for the rest of the year?

Comment & Opinion Editor: Patricia Van De Velde

Trinity News

COMMENT&OPINION Tuesday November 15th, 2005

The Grafton Grinch It’s mid-November and already the shops are filled with Christmas goodies, the Brown Thomas window has been unveiled and the tree has gone up on Grafton Street. Is it festive or just too early?

Niamh FlemingFarrell I’m not going to mislead you; this is a granny gripe. Be that as it may, the crux of this matter resonates with the young, the old, in fact all sense-equipped beings regardless of age.

Last week, or was it two weeks ago now, a while back let’s say and altogether indecently early I spotted two white lighted outlines in the window of Next on Grafton St. Oh yes, they were the first to adorn their windows with Christmas. Yes, yes this year they’ve gone for a very white, very minimalist, very stylish Christmas tree theme. Nonetheless though, my friends, taste or no taste, Next deserves our scorn. So strike them off the list first, name them and shame them, and allow me the privilege of a truly dreadful pun, “Next please”.

To be frank I cannot recall my next encounter with commercial Christmas. Ever since those pale tree shapes left me gaping it’s been the usual bandwagon effect, like spotting the first isolated snowflake and realising a second later that you’re lost in a blizzard. Suddenly Brown Thomas had their windows hidden behind velvet gold curtains, altogether opulent and utterly scintillating.

Marks and Spenser tossed up some mediocre tinsel at the corner and red contacted their glass panes over. River Island proclaimed “Christmas Rocks” and shoved the proclamation on two large glittering signs in their windows.

November 9th: Two days ago Brown Thomas, held to be the most refined of our stores, lost the patience to wait before unwrapping its gift to us. The Weihnachten scenes were unveiled before our pumpkins even begun rotting. Over filled windows, dazzling, distracting, alluring. “It’s like a 19th century French brothel,” a friend declared. And it is, it’s like Café en Seine when everything gets hazy and slippy at about 2am.

This year Brown Thomas demonstrates how truly manic town is on the nights of the holiday season.

People slumped in all directions, drunk and laughing, covetous and copulating, the Brown Thomas window is a summation of the modern celebration of the birth of Christ. And my admiration for their window designer’s ability to represent reality (although I suppose we don’t all get pissed in Versace and Gucci) aside, I must nonetheless point my disapproving finger - IT’S TOO EARLY. I don’t want to picture the small hours of Christmas work parties in Temple bar for at least another month, and even then I want to deny them.

Then drink my way through them.

Then pretend none of it ever happened. I do not want to see it in early November.

Furthermore, in early November I do not want to go Christmas shopping. Across the street from Brown Thomas, Boots have erected those unsightly window dressings promoting the 3 for 2 offers on Christmas gift boxes (such good value). They start the promotion this early so as there can

be absolutely no question as to the thoughtlessness of the gift you are bound to receive from Auntie Mary on Christmas Eve? So, who do you give your free one to?

Confusion that this may cause granted my real bafflement when I arrive outside BT2, the younger sibling of the drunk and disorderly affair down the street.

BT2, for some ponderous reason, have stuck turkey heads on all their male mannequins. Apart from being particularly disturbing for those of us that suffer from ornaphobia (birds, I’m afraid of birds, ok) it strikes me as a very odd interpretation of Christmas spirit. Some absurd cannibalistic message?

Some ‘witty’ comment on the intelligence of the male?

For me, rather bizarrely and somewhat ironically, it’s the most apt Halloween window I’ve ever seen.

Desperately trying to move on from Halloween and sell off their brain shaped corn snacks (yummy by the way) are Marks and Spenser. They are itching to pack the place full of cherry liquor chocolates, luxury plum puddings, and thirty-second turkey and ham dinners. On the exterior though M&S remains unadorned with the exception of some limp sparkle in one window. Its other windows are covered over with pink contact.

Oh, what could be behind it? Let me gamble, it’s unlikely to be clockwork toys on sleds unloading sacks under the watchful eye of Mr. Claus. If M&S do go down the traditionalist road, they’ll be going well against the grain. And since they seem ever so slightly more restrained than their neighbours I imagine we’ll have to wait (with that ever so baited breath) and see.

November 10th: M&S unveiled.

Nothing is clockwork. There are a large selection of flashing bulbs and an utterly bland array of M&S stock.

It does seem though that the traditional Christmas decoration has been abandoned. The warmth of green, red and Santa Claus is cast off in favour of fashionable minimalism, opulence and obscurity. And of course some weak wit; do take a moment to chortle next time you pass the “Office Christmas Party”.

Office parties eh? Ours is next week. It’s been booked since June.

Ludicrous, we’ve been thinking about it for five months!

Rushing our lives toward this. Stop speeding. Slow down. I’ve dreaded the passage of time ever since I turned 16. Looking down the long slippery slope into old age I balk at every passing birthday, every passing year. Yet, while most people I know would agree that they too are unsettled by the rapidity with which this life passes, it is these same people, this same consumer society so eagerly galloping through each year. Yes this is an old hat point. Old and granny dull and we’ll reminisce with our ‘back in the old days’ utterances. Still, let me do it this once. Back in the old days I think we were better equipped to savour our mince pies.

Now we put them at half price before the 25th arrives, terrified that we won’t get along with life fast enough, terrified time will linger leaving us behind in some

inescapable world were we’ll be forced to consume mince pies and mulled wine in sunny July.

Dublin’s consumer centre’s plunge toward Christmas is purely symptomatic of this contemporary phenomenon. Let’s January to December this. Christmas sales.

Enter summer stock at January’s end. February it’s Easter already, or do the crème eggs arrive out in January? Minor green attention is paid to Paddy’s day. April brings summer sales. July the beginnings of winter clothing lines. We skip Halloween and dive mid October straight into Christmas. From July first children are going back to school.

From September 1st they’re writing letters to Santa Claus. Rush, rush. If you don’t you’ll be last, left out, left behind.

“Hello future, here we are and what have we done?” It’s midnight on New Year’s Eve and the only thing that marks the passage of time is a stack of credit card bills. I find myself looking down the barrel of a gun at the room of an old spinster lady, a room filled with decaying bath salts and moisturisers that once smelled like berries. A room so packed with stuff, but so devoid of memory. What happened to Christmas consumerism beginning on December 8th, the traditional farmers’ shopping day?

In recent times there has been a movement to slow down our ever-speeding society. Slow food, slow living, slow being is something we’ve become so far removed from that we need ‘posi-

tive living’ books like In Praise of Slow to re-educate us in the enjoyment of taking life at a steady pace.

We have to make a conscious effort to allow time for food to cook, to wait for things rather than galloping at them or rushing them toward us. I’m not sure though that it’s possible to convince capitalists to slow down the ever-racing clang of tills, and click of change. It is possible though for consumer society to make a conscious decision not to be effected by the ploys of marketing that lead to the Christmas shopping frenzy the moment the air takes on an autumnal hue.

On Sunday (November 7th) I noticed the evergreen and lights had been hoisted above Grafton St. At the bottom of the street, overshadowing Molly Malone I spotted the huge undecorated city centre Christmas tree, awaiting it crowning and glory.

Ignore them, resist the call to arms, you don’t need to be laden with shopping bags and Christmas spirit so out of season. Slow down, take your time. But in this instance don’t just do it to enjoy the tree, do it to navigate your way past. I say this not only because I’m in favour of savouring the moment, cherishing this youth and building memories but also because the buffoons at Dublin City council have managed to plonk this evergreen monstrosity right smack on a pedestrian crossing so that you have to jostle your way past it to reach the pavement. Take care.

Merry Christmas.

19

Opposition Sour Grapes

Complaints by the Opposition about the new Transport plan are misguided Andrew Laughlin The Dublin public transport system and I have two things in common – we are both grossly under funded and, usually, running behind schedule. The latter of which being a source of perpetual dismay to my flatmate and editor.

While the solution to my financial difficulties can be overcome with a trip home to stock up on the essentials – bread, pasta and Haribo Goldbears – unfortunately there is no such quick fix to the transportation chaos that grips this city every day. Which is why, to my disappointment, there has been such a negative reaction to the recently announced ‘Transport 21’ initiative from the government. I use the word disappointment rather than surprise because this is hardly unexpected. It just goes to show that we have become what people have so long suspected – a nation of moaners.

Since the plan was announced last week, we have seen the opposition parties dismiss the plan as a political stunt and yet another government ‘white elephant’, small businesses along the routes in question are already complaining about the proposed disruption and possible loss of business, while the view of people on the street seems to be that Bertie Ahern is throwing money away again, just as he did before the 2002 General Election. People have become so quick to jump on the political bandwagon, scaremongering the public with unfounded rumours, that they neglect to see the benefits of such plans. Scepticism is all well and good, but have we forgotten what this is all about? What is being mooted is a much needed, long overdue, multi-billion investment in our infrastructure yet stories of increased taxes and cuts in the education service abound. The reality however is somewhat different, and whatsmore (moaners pay attention here) it needs to be faced sooner rather than later.

‘Transport 21’ is an integrated, well thought out initiative

not only for the capital, but for all 26 counties. Nationally it includes the upgrading of the five major roadways in the state, linking Dublin with the other main cities and further capital investment in the rail system. While in Dublin it provides for seven new Luas lines, two Metro lines and an integrated transport hub underneath St.Stephen’s Green connecting the Luas, Metro and suburban rail services. The fact that most of the emphasis in the plan is centred on Dublin is reflective of the facts and is not merely political manoeuvring. Cynics would have us believe that the Greater Dublin Area (the population of which is now estimated at approximately 1.6million people) has fared better in the plan because there is more money and more votes in the Fair City than elsewhere, and that the government is merely trying to hoodwink an already tired electorate into returning them to power for a second time.

Now, I may be a Dubliner born and bred, but that sounds like another bunch of opposition sour grapes to me.

While other urban centres in the country suffer terrible traffic congestion, nothing compares to the crisis in Dublin at the moment. A product of our unprecedented economic success is the reality that this city cannot cope much longer with the current transportation system. More buses, QBCs and, of course, our two beloved Luas lines have undoubtedly improved the situation, but if something major is not done soon, you don’t have to be Nostradamus to predict what the future will be like for Dublin in en years time. Transport 21 is something major.

Critics cite the huge cost of the plan, 34.4 billion euro to be precise, and the huge level of disruption as the major deterrents of this program.

Does no one remember Harcourt Street while the Luas was being constructed?

Would the money not be better spent on Hospitals? In schools?

Even environmental protection schemes have been deemed more

deserving.

Yes, I remember Harcourt Street, and yes it was a nightmare at the time, but the qualified success of both Luas lines leaves that argument without a leg to stand on. And as for hospitals and schools, we all agree that these are worthy causes, and they deserve to enjoy the fruits of our economic success with increased funding. But in a country that relies on foreign investment, can we really afford to ignore any longer the one thing that we lack – a 21st century infrastructural system. Indeed, believe it or not, those on the opposition benches question the government’s ability to spend money at all, which in the wake of the high profile failures like The National Health Strategy is nothing short of bizarre. The fact that capital expenditure for the first ten months of this yearstands at 3.1billion falling short of the target of 3.6billion, has lead Labour to question whether the government can actually spend 9million euro a day on transport over ten years, calling the idea “ludicrous”.

Forgive me, but for all its flaws, I don’t think that a high level of spending has ever been this government’s problem. (E-voting anyone??)

It has become increasingly obvious that an inefficient opposition, lacking in strong leadership, can do nothing else than play party political games with issues of real national importance.

Shooting down the ideas of others while being incapable of forming any of their own. If Transport 21 goes ahead, we in Dublin should have a public transport system to be proud of which will be an asset to both visitors and to those of us who call this little metropolis home. If however you disagree with the proposals please take a few minutes, sit down and try and come up with some worthwhile alternatives. Join the debate rather than starting an argument but, whatever you do, please stop moaning!

Power For Dummies The ‘crazy but competent’ stunt: Derek Owens’ fortnightly update on seizing power from the great unwashed Another day, another setback. My search for a dream team to sweep all before it in the Student Union sabbatical elections is still trundling along, with a few brave punters vaguely committing themselves, but my efforts to recruit a front-man (or woman) for the operation are stuttering badly. There’s just not that many would-be presidents about, or at least very few willing to touch the ‘power: for dummies’ project with a ten-foot bargepole.

Perhaps winning an election fair and square, though, isn’t the way to go. Events in recent

weeks show how effective a good old-fashioned riot can be. It seems that the fever has even caught on in our normally sleepy Student Union, if an incident from the last SU council is anything to go by.

‘Constitutional Review’ is hardly the most inspiring of subjects, but it had some inspired individual (normally better known for impersonating James Joyce than Che Guevara) breathing fire. Mounting a table (which seems quite pointless, he’s a fairly tall chap anyway) he roared to the assembly that “This is not a democracy, this is a farce!” before storming off.

Now, this guy ( who will be referred to as inspired individual) not only proved his own point about the farcical nature of Student Union ‘politics’, but his outburst seems to be the one incident from the meeting that everybody seems to remember. In politics, the attention-grabbing, slightly nutty, stunt has far more impact than a good idea stated modestly. This is even more pronounced in meaningless elections sorely lacking in big ideas or differences between candidates, and heavy in empty promises repeated year after year.

Looking back at elections in the

last few years, not only are the Student Union elections fertile ground for dramatic ego- fuelled incidents, but we tend to remember such stunts far more than the candidates themselves. The catfight between candidates for Welfare Officer was enthralling, and poor Lorna Jennings will be remembered by house 6 hacks forever as the girl who spammed every student in college. As for the years before, just mention the megaphone-toting misogynist freemason Chris Gambino, his two bids for S.U. President, or his record-breaking collection of fines from

College to any hack. Expect a smile, a random anecdote about shooting possums in Mexico, and their own personal insight into Chris’ tortured soul. Follow it up by asking if they can name the people Gambino ran against. Bet you they can’t. Nuttiness is truly the way to immortality.

Gambino though, as a co-conspirator pointed out, failed by dint of his own nuttiness. It’s crucial, my accomplice continued, to get just the right level of craziness: Make them remember you, but try not to scare or insult them.

So for president, I need to find

someone just the right side of nutty.

A quick scan of the people who openly covet the line ‘S.U. President’ in their CV reveals two students: David Quinn and John McGuirk. Of these two, David Quinn sounds far too sensible a candidate for my tastes: Chair of S.U. Council, he already fits into the ‘Student Union hack’ category.

Alarmingly, he’s already claimed an advantage by wriggling his way into meetings of the Electoral Commission (the mandarins who effectively control the Student Union elections). McGurk, campus standard-bearer of the Freedom

Institute, Ireland’s (mercifully) only right-wing think-tank, is a nice enough sort. It’s a shame, then, that the Freedom Institute are clearly on the nutty side of the right rather than the other way around.

With nobody to match the unbeatable ‘crazy but competent’ formula, the contest seems to be there for the taking. I just need to find a likable, slightly unhinged, candidate, smooth off his or her rough edges, and gift them to the world. Come back Gambino, all is forgiven.

COMMENT&OPINION

20

Tuesday November 15th, 2005

Comment & Opinion Editor: Patricia Van De Velde

Trinity News

Not lovin’ the animal lovers Fact versus Fiction Jennifer Davis A couple of weeks ago, under the Westminster Hunting Act, a 19 year old lad from Liverpool was prosecuted for trespassing on a Lancashire estate, with lurchers and lamps, poaching rabbits. This was the Act’s first victim. Surely, as the Countryside Alliance pointed out, the Hunting Act was not aimed at Liverpudlian teenagers but rather at home county toffs in red hunting coats? Meanwhile, foxhunters continue to saunter through life, their lives as yet untouched by the Act’s existence.

Packs so far this year have already had a few good days out…although the season is due to kick in properly this month. Foxes have been accounted for, stumbled upon by hounds while legitimately following a drag. The English government seems to be losing the battle to ban hunting, while in Scotland, Parliament has simply abandoned any attempt to enforce its existence. Tony’s darling fox seems to be missing out somewhere.

As all this goes on, animal rights activists continue to make irritating, slightly ridiculous bids to hamper an age-old tradition which they don’t understand. I find it ironic that the people desperate to save their precious fox are willing to go to the extreme of spraying mace into the hounds’ eyes to put

them off the scent.

The latest fad of this bespectacled, long-haired lot is to oppose the introduction of 6 beavers into England. Is this a battle worth fighting whilst inner-city gangs are terrorising neighbourhoods, or while AIDS kills around 3.1 million people a year globally?

Is there a direct link between beavers and obesity? Amusingly, beavers are herbivores. They do not eat rabbits, ormoles, or frogs, or animal rights activists. More’s the pity.

I read something in one of the Sunday papers a few weeks ago about how some members of the All Blacks learned to tackle.

Apparently it’s all down to chasing sheep. When they were young, aspiring rugby players, they kept themselves fit and agile by trying to catch sheep. Now we know their secret. If you’ve grown up on a farm you’ll know that sheep are indeed pretty hard to catch. I think it’s a great idea. Animal rights activists do not. I wonder how many animal rights activists have in the past applauded the Kiwi’s superior rugby skills…little did they know what they were condoning!

Our government today seems hell-bent on respecting the rights of every single minority group in the UK. Except the rural dweller’s. What is going to happen to our countryside? The Barker

Students’ Union Welfare Officer Stephanie O’Brien looks at the truth behind some of the major myths surrounding mental health and mental illness Mental Health is all about how we think and feel. The mental health problems we may face are not always easy to understand or talk about. But it helps to get the facts right.

An enterprising hog levels the playing field... plan, about which many people do not know, proposes to turn an area the size of Buckinghamshire into housing and concrete playground over the next 20 years.

In my opinion, Labour’s half-baked effort to ban hunting (amongst other thing), combined with tree-huggers’ uneducated attitude towards all things vaguely rural makes for a very bleak outlook. Too much of our money is wasted on research into whether tadpoles feel intimidated by fishermen. Are the animal rights idiots personally going to take responsi-

bility for putting down thousands of hounds that they themselves have condemned? Is England in 50 years time going to be one big suburbia with nothing but National Parks for countryside? British people will all be sentenced to taking lovely weekend hikes in such and such a park, taking care not to step on any caterpillars.

Long live the foxhunters’ defiance and may the madmen in charge of a survey to find out who really killed the red squirrel take a long walk off a short pier.

Race Riots in France Eoin Healy As the ash settles in the Parisian suburbs after three weeks of riots, international commentators are keen to show these “riots” in the light of the discrimination and levels of unemployment in the vast cities HLM (social housing estates and flats), particularly among the youth of Arabic descent. However none seem to have commented on the fact that these youths seem to be concentrating their protest on burning the cars and businesses of their neighbours. In the first nights following the tragedy which saw two youths electrocuted whilst fleeing from police, there was prolonged violent contact between the rioters and the CRS (the French riot police). Recent nights of unrest have mainly targeted the material possessions and companies of areas already in deep economic and social crisis. Is what may have been a justified act of revulsion against the measures taken by an overly eager interior minister, Mr Nicolas Sarkozy, now pure and simple vandalism?

These youths are no political revolutionaries; they are delinquents and often dangerous criminals who terrorise the neighbourhood. While it is true that only a few of them give the rest a bad name, these cities have been (and in some cases still are) “no-go” areas for the police for the past decade. These are the areas in which the horror tales like “la tournante” emerged: groups of youngsters approaching young underage girls and slowly luring them into what eventually becomes a near daily ritual of gang rape. These are the same areas where three weeks ago a public lighting company worker was beaten to death in front of his wife and daughter after photographing a lamppost. These youths are not only misunderstood, they are also in need of being removed from society and rehabil-

When Father Alec Reid, peace broker and decommissioner in Northern Ireland, told Willie Frazier, of FAIR, the family support network for those bereaved during the troubles, that he is "in the same category as the Nazis" there was understandable uproar.

But is this really an incitement to hatred? The PSNI seem to think it is well worth investigating. He has voiced his own personal distaste of the loyal-

MYTH ‘Students living away from home are way better off. No family pressure, no stress, more privacy…its great…’

TRUTH Research has shown recently that 1 in every 3 students living away from home suffer from depression.

People can feel alone and depressed whether they live with a lot of people, their family or in a flat by themselves, it depends on the individuals ability to maintain a healthy lifestyle in their individual situation.

MYTH ‘People who say they’re depressed are sad..they’re just having a bad day…they need to get up and stop feeling sorry for themselves…’

TRUTH Anyone can get depressed: Movie stars, sports stars, even you or I. It is absolutely nothing to do with being weak or sad. It’s a low mood that lasts for a period of time so you are unable to enjoy life and feel unable to cope. Be tolerant and supportive if someone you know seems depressed.

MYTH ‘Schizophrenics are dangerous people with split personalities like in the movies…’

MYTH ‘People who cut themselves are mad for attention…’

TRUTH People who self-harm aren’t all the same. Some do it to escape from something bad; others do it to punish themselves for something. For some it can seem like the only way to purge themselves of anger or pain. It is a hard thing to understand but if you learnt that a friend or loved-one was self-harming you should try to be there for them. Try to be calm and supportive.

MYTH ‘Anorexics and Bulimics just want to be skinny like models or just want attention from the ‘cool’ people in college…’

TRUTH People with Eating Disorders often lack self-confidence and have feelings they find hard to deal with.

Controlling weight is their way of handling or trying to cope. Some people are just naturally slim but some do try and maintain an unhealthy weight in order to create an image of themselves they ‘like’.

Not eating can be wrongly per-

ceived as an ‘accomplishment’.

Those suffering with such illnesses should be supported and not judged. Don’t think you need to have all the answers but just try and support them. And remember, help is always available.

MYTH: ‘Anyone having a bad time can just pop an anti-depressant and that makes them normal…’

TRUTH First off, normal is a bad label.

Anyone at any time can suffer from mental ill health and yes, there are treatments but it’s not just about a drug making a problem go away.

Treatments include drugs, counselling and psychotherapy depending on the case.

MYTH: Violent & Aggressive = Mental Illness TRUTH: People with mental health problems or an illness are more likely to be attacked than they are to attack others.

What you can do if one of your friends or a member of your family has a mental health problem. *See the person *Just be a friend *Listen *Don’t leave them out *Try not to judge What you can do for yourself if you are feeling down, depressed or just not yourself: *Tell someone *Don’t blame yourself *Accept it is okay to ask for help *Not everyone will understand-so find someone who will, friends, family, GP, counsellor etc. *Do some exercise, try a little activity Information courtesy of The Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Changing Minds Campaign.

More riots in Chile Oisin Gilmore

Youths survey the scene during the riots on the streets of France’s suburbs itated. I suspect that many of the members of these gangs carrying out the attacks are involved with drugs or crime in some greater way.

But so would you if your name was Aziz and you came from the wrong area of town. Your prospects are pretty slim in France, a society that still has problems acknowledging that these are French citizens. A society where you’re meant to know your place and you’ll be told where that is very early in life. Discrimination in employment is a very real problem in France. Believe me, Aziz is probably not a nice guy, but Aziz’s world is not a nice world. In his world you flee from police controls, because when you have nothing to do, you’re probably up to no good. The drugs help ease the passing of time, and the police exist as a repressive and often racist enemy.

These youths live in a desolate world rather like the one they seem to be trying to create.

Their targets, cars which they will never own, businesses in which they will never work, schools in which they will never succeed, police in whom they will never trust, tell a more significant tale than it would first seem. It would appear that the delinquents are “protesting” their living conditions: if there was one country in which it could happen, it’s France!

But this doesn’t excuse their actions, nor can it achieve anything for them. They will gain nothing from these riots, if anything they will attract the anger and contempt of their neighbours who are desperately trying to get out of this mess. But it would be a shame to not learn from the mistakes of a rigid society, which can no longer allow itself to be so closed minded, elitist and so protective of its val-

ues and its Republic.

Those being left behind, with petty crime as the only means of advancing in an increasingly material society, are lashing out at those who are trying or who have moved on. It shocks because they have no desire to remain hidden; they are haunted by a malaise in French society, which they intend to show. They want to be seen by cameras and for university students in foreign countries to write about them, they crave the attention because they might never have had any or ever get any again.

We must beware of sensationalism: Paris isn’t burning, nor is France. These acts are being carried out in only a handful of areas by a handful of individuals across a large country. The Republic isn’t burning, but the dreams of yet another generation in the ghettos of France are.

Don’t mention the N word Rory Treanor

MYTH ‘In a class of 30 students I’d say maybe 1 or 2 might have a mental health problem, what ever that is…’

TRUTH In fact, 1 in 4 of us will have a mental health problem at some point in our lives and anyone can be affected. They don’t always last forever and many can be treated just like problems with your physical health.

TRUTH This is a particularly damaging misconception that Schizophrenia Ireland has worked hard for a long time to dispel. It is nothing to do with ‘spilt personalities’, but people suffering from this mental illness may hear voices or see things and find they become confused sometimes. Don’t believe everything you see on T.V. Sufferers are more likely to hurt themselves than ever be a danger to anyone else.

The word is much scarier than the illness itself which can affect 1 in every 100 of us. Some people with it may even only have 1 episode.

The way people treat those around them with schizophrenia, when they do not understand the illness, can be more damaging than even the symptoms themselves!

If you want to help, learn more, read up a little, and never ever judge people with such labels.

ist paramilitaries, and his comments, when taken in context, were little else but that.

This could bring Mr Frazier the admiration of many members of the BNP, and Continuity 18 may even give him honorary membership. Very few are continuing the work of the German National Socialist movement of the 1930s, and such a high profile supporter, so concerned for the wellbeing of his own people etc. would be a big boost.

People describe each other as Nazis all the time. From the famous "Germans" episode of Fawlty Towers to the poor grade philosophical critics writing on Martin Heidegger, there are people being branded by this most heinous of insults.

There are many Hitlerite doctrines out there, but that doesn't make people proponents of concentration camps. The focus on domestic production rather than an import based economy that can be seen right across South America

for one. Another is the development of mass social housing in Poland (and no one will ever accuse a citizen of that particular country of being a fascist). Closer to home, the massive and costly upgrade of the train lines in Ireland just might make the trains run on time.

So before everyone gets all jumped up about a priest using the "N" word, Mr Frazier, the PSNI and the public at large should work out exactly what Fr Reid is guilty of.

On Thursday 8th September, just outside the Universidad de Playa Ancha (UPLA) on the streets of Valparaiso in Chile, a young man Francisco San Martin Soto, was crushed up against a fence by a water cannon truck, paralysing him for life. Francisco, a member of the Frente de Estudiantes Libertarios [Libertarian Student's Front], was demonstrating to commemorate the 32 years since the CIA-backed coup d'etat put General Augusto Pinochet in power.

On 11th September 1973, the military, led by General Pinochet, stormed the presidential palace and seized power from President Salvador Allende, a Marxist physician who, backed by a large popular movement, had become the first socialist president of Chile. Allende was found dead soon after. Following the coup, a junta headed by Pinochet was established, which immediately suspended the constitution, dissolved Congress, imposed strict censorship, outlawed the left wing parties that had constituted Allende's Popular Unity coalition, and halted all political activity.

The junta quickly embarked on a campaign of terror against left wing elements in the country. As a result, more than 3,000 Chileans were executed or disappeared, upwards of 200,000 were imprisoned or tortured, and many were exiled and received abroad as political refugees.

President Allende's economic policy had involved large scale nationalisations. Notably, he nationalised the U.S. owned copper mines. This was one of the reasons that led to the U.S. government actively trying to destabilse the Popular Unity government.

This began with the U.S. funding the lorry drivers' strike, which

exacerbated the already chaotic economic situation prior to the coup and ultimately led to supporting the coup d'etat.

Pinochet, on the other hand, launched an era of economic deregulation and privatisation.

He abolished the minimum wage, rescinded trade union rights, privatised the pension system, state industries, and banks, and lowered taxes on wealth and profits. Milton Friedman, the Nobel prize winning economist and an ardent supporter of Pinochet dubbed the economic development of Chile under Pinochet "The Miracle of Chile", due to the 35% increase in real per capita GDP from 1960 to 1980.

However, the unemployment rate increased from 4.3% in 1973 to 22% in 1983, while real wages declined by 40%.

The privatisations, cuts in public spending, and deregulated labor policies generally had a negative impact on Chile's working class and a positive one on the country's more wealthy classes.

This caused little disturbance to Pinochet as it was his declared aim "to make Chile not a nation of proletarians, but a nation of entrepreneurs".

However, Pinochet's plans did not pass off peacefully as his presidency was frequently made unstable by riots and isolated violent attacks. The popular struggles that lead to Allende’s election did not end with Pinochet’s coup nor did it end when Pinochet lost control of the State in 1990. Indeed it has continued to push forward demanding better conditions for the working classes of Chile and demanding justice for those that suffered under Pinochet.

It was in this struggle that Francisco San Martín Soto, from the Villa Alemana area, who is studying for a Baccalaureate at the University of Valparaìso, was

injured. He was left with multiple fractures to the pelvis and the lower limbs after he was crushed against a metal fence on the North side of the UPLA by a water-cannon truck. Nevertheless, Francisco has stated that he is resolved in his intention to obtain justice for this assault and to continue in the fight for anarchism.

Francisco's organisation, the FeL, issued a public declaration shortly after the incident stating that together with the family, they will be pursuing legal action against those responsible.

They also stated that they were collecting funds for Francisco's medical expenses and welcomed all demonstrations of solidarity from political and human rights organizations. In response to this students in Trinity, Coláiste Dhúlaigh and NCAD organised a concert earlier this month raising over €400 to send over. Along with other donations, this has meant that over €700 is being sent over from Ireland to help pay for Francisco's medical bills.

The FeL ended their declaration with an appeal to all students, citizens, employed and unemployed workers not to allow themselves to be intimidated and to continue to fight for their rights and for their dignity.

Comments, Tips, Hate-mail to: vandevep@tcd.ie. Please feel free to send comment or opinion articles to the same address.

All views expressed in the Comment & Opinion section are those of the authors of the individual articles and not those of Trinity News

Tuesday November 15, 2005

Trinity News Trinity News EST. 1947 Free Speech up for Discussion?

Free Speech is a right. One of the most basic and essential rights for any democracy and any person to be considered free. It is a right we should all defend at all costs. Or is it? The events of the past couple of weeks have shown that free speech cannot be thrown out as an excuse for people to say what they want.

The Ferns Report demonstrated just how important it is that we listen to what all members of society have to say, without considering anything too outrageous. It also emphasised that we should listen even when we don’t want to believe what’s being said.

Some quite different cases have emerged on campus. Last week the Phil were roundly criticised for allowing Islamic fundamentalists to speak at their debate on the events of 11th September 2001. Comments that Ireland could be seen as a legitimate terrorist attack have provoked predictable controversy. It could be argued however that it is important people hear this type of comment. If there is indeed a threat, choosing not to listen to it won’t make the problem go away.

That said there is a line where free speech can become incitement to hatred. This line is where people are called on to hate or to attack others, not where people are warned that they may be the subject of an attack.

It is important we all stand up to protect the right to freedom of speech. If an opponent’s beliefs are the opposite of yours the best ay to show that is to present the two arguments together and expose the opposing views’ flaws, not to stop the opposing view from being aired

Trinity News Giveaway Win a King Creosote T-Shirt

LETTERS ‘Thank you Matt’ Article

As your fellow students we hope that you will address this error in your next edition and in future provide more consideration to the language used in your paper.

In India, Coca-Cola’s monopolisation of already scarce dependable water resources has had catastrophic effects on local water tables and the livelihoods of all those living in the vicinity of its bottling plants.

Regards,

Sir,

We wish to express our deep concern regarding your November 1st edition of the Trinity News. The page 3 article ‘Thank you Matt’ say Princes William and Harry contains the following lines: He has been deaf and dumb since birth but is proficient in at least six languages Such language is outdated, inappropriate and degrading to Deaf and hard of hearing people such as ourselves. We are offended by such a term, and its use in your widely-read publication.

Trinity College has the highest number of Deaf and hard of hearing students in third level education in Ireland; it also has the only Centre for Deaf Studies, part of the School of Linguistic, Speech and Communication Sciences. The recently HEA-funded DNA project is based in Trinity, with the aim of increasing the numbers of Deaf and hard of hearing students in third level education, nationally.

Yet despite such positive indicators that Deaf and hard of hearing students and staff are being supported to access the further education environment, your paper presents an outdated and incorrect view which was distasteful and upsetting to read.

Your inference of surprise that the ‘deaf and dumb’ Mr Matubara could also be proficient in several languages shows a further lack of education and awareness of the issues at hand.

Emma Clarke, SF Physiotherapy Gillian Quigley, SS BESS

Nestea Article Sir,

I would like to commend the recent good work done by your paper in exposing the continued sale of products of the Coca-Cola and Nestlé corporations in an outlet run by the Students’ Union. It is an utter disgrace that the S.U. has, either through sheer incompetence or a disturbing lack of interest, neglected the democratic decision taken by the students of Trinity College not once, but twice for each company to boycott their products.

The S.U. has made no effort whatsoever to publicise the stand made by the students of this college. The hopes of many that these boycotts would serve as a symbolic gesture and a catalyst, leading to an effective nationwide and international public protest against injustices in Colombia, India, and across the developing world have been cruelly set back by the abject failure of “our” S.U. In Colombia, union leaders continue to face the threat of violence and execution at the hands of paramilitaries for daring to demand the legitimate rights of workers everywhere to protest and bargain collectively.

Trinity News Editor:

Andrew Payne trinity.news@tcd.ie Deputy Editor: Jonathan Drennan drennajw@tcd.ie TNT Editor: Christine Bohan bohanc@tcd.ie Photography Editor:Karina Finegan Alves finegank@tcd.ie Editorial Team News: John Lavelle lavelljd@tcd.ie Assistant News: Una Faulkner faulkneu@tcd.ie News Feature: Gearoid O’Rourke orourkgd@tcd.ie National: Anne Marie Ryan aryan19@tcd.ie International: Doaa Baker dobaker@tcd.ie Features: Kathryn Segesser & Liz Johnson segessek@tcd.ie Comment: Patricia Van de Velde vandevep@tcd.ie

Nestlé has yet to change its policies regarding the temporary provision of powdered to milk to women living in dire poverty and unsanitary conditions.

It is clear that the criminal activities of these two companies that have so outraged students continue largely unabated. The support for the victims of these two corporations continues to grow on campus.

Recently, an umbrella group comprising Labour, One World and the SWSS has begun reaching out to other societies and interested groups. Still, the obligations on the S.U. are clear. We have mandated them to make this boycott work, and, while our individual responsibility to be ethical consumers has is in no way diminished, they must show some leadership.

Yours sincerely, Carl Fox, Chairperson, Trinity Labour

Aborton Article Sir,

Sheila Lynch and Hannah Scally’s article in the last Trinity News purported to report on the College Historical Society’s abortion debate and on attitudes to abortion in Ireland and here in College. In reality, however, it was a biased piece promoting abortion under the guise of news.

Lynch and Scally reported that

Issue 3 Volume 58

those on their side at the Hist’s debate were “forced to leave through the back entrance of the GMB due to impassioned protests outside from Youth Defence”. The image conveyed is one of screaming anti-choice women-hating lunatics ready to blast with bazookas anyone who opposed them. The facts are different, however: the Chairman of Youth Defence had been invited to speak at the debate, and while declining to participate, he had mistakenly assumed he and his friends could come along to attend. Not quite so impassioned, really.

The two girls’ article continued with a quick mention of Ireland’s several abortion referendums, but neglected to point out that no referendum was ever a vote for abortion in Ireland.

Their mention of the “D” Case concluded by mentioning that a European Court decision could extend “the right of abortion to women whose foetuses were found to be abnormal” (emphasis mine).

The bias of an article which claims to be news is evident when it refers to abortion as a “right”.

Furthermore, disabled unborn children have the same rights as nondisabled unborn children; to say otherwise is to take the Nazi view that mentally and physically disabled people deserve life less than those who are “perfect”, whether they are born or unborn.

The girls say that a “survey of students taken … by Trinity News in the Arts Block suggests that students have a more choice-oriented view of the issue.” It’s interesting that the girls claim to represent the whole of the newspaper; but aside from that, a small group of random BESS students hardly represent the student population. Even if it did, the truth is not subject to a majority vote: abortion continues to kill children even when people igno-

rantly or stubbornly agree with it.

A lack of awareness, their article says, “may explain why recent referenda have failed to give definitive outcomes”. The last referendum only failed to give a definitive outcome because its wording was not acceptable to all pro-life voters.

Other referendums repeatedly rejected introducing abortion to Ireland.

We are also told that our society seems “much happier to let another country deal with a problem we are reluctant to face.” This not-facingour-problem idea is repeated constantly by Irish pro-abortion activists. The Netherlands has “faced” the problems of marijuana, twelve-year-old sex, and euthanasia. Perhaps we should “face” those too? Or maybe we should wait until we’ve “faced” (i.e. introduced) abortion first, as the Netherlands did. Ireland is not responsible for the baseness and immorality of other countries, and Ireland should not feel the need to live up to other countries’ degradation.

The two girls again reveal their true colours when they say that poorer women who cannot afford to travel abroad (but isn’t it cheaper to fly to England than to take the train to Cork?) are “left in an unenviable situation”. The lucky unborn child is not in an “unenviable situation”, however.

Perhaps the two girls feel it is their feminist duty to encourage the introduction of state-sanctioned slaughter to our country. However, they would do better to “face” the real facts: abortion kills children and does nothing for women or society.

Yours, etc., Peter Henry, SS Biblical and Theological Studies

November 15th, 2005

Intern’al Students: Alesya Krit krita@tcd.ie Music: Steve Clarke clarkesw@tcd.ie Cinema: Rebecca Jackson jacksonrebecca@gmail.com Travel: Alix O’Neill lixyoneill@hotmail.com SU & Societies Enda Hargaden ehargade@tcd.ie Food & Drink: Rosie Gogan-Keogh goganker@tcd.ie Careers: Emma Hutchinson hutchiej@tcd.ie Science: Oliver North northo@tcd.ie Gaeilge: Paul Mulville mulvillp@tcd.ie Sport Features: Theo O’Donnell odonnetj@tcd.ie Sport: Peter Henry pehenry@tcd.ie In House Doctor: John Inderhaug

TNT Team Politics:

Derek Owens dowens@tcd.ie Books: Chloe Sanderson & Klara Kubiak sandercp@tcd.ie, kubiakk@tcd.ie Theatre Editor: David Lydon djp_lydon@hotmail.com Fashion Editor: Carmen Bryce brycec@tcd.ie Television Editor: Hannah Scally scallyjo@tcd.ie All serious complaints can be made to: Trinity News DU Publications 2nd Floor House 6 Trinity College Dublin 2 Phone +353 1 608 2335

Photograph of the Fortnight

One lucky reader will recieve a cool King Creosote Tee. To put youself in the draw just answer this simple question:

What is the name of the King’s record label?

For an interview with King Creosote see Music on p11 Send your answers to trinity.news@tcd.ie

21

Gardai survey the action during the rugby Colours match at Donnybrook

22

Tuesday November 15th, 2005

Eagarthóir na Gaeilge: Pól Ó

Trinity News

GAEILGE

An bhfuil aon mhaitheas leis an nGaeilge?

Grace Vaughey Mar a dúirt Thomas Davis “A people without a language of its own is only half a nation. A nation should guard its language more than its territories - 'tis a surer barrier, and more important frontier, than fortress or river” Mo chead cheist – An bhfuil an teanga fós i mbarr a sláinte sa tír seo? Ní féidir a shéanadh ach gur fadhb mhór i gceist anseo. Nach cuimhin libh an t-am nuair a bhí náire an Domhan ar gach daoine a labhair Gaeilge, mar bhí caidreamh láidir idir an teanga féin agus neamhlitearthacht, bochtaineacht agus iompaitheach. Agus anuas ar seo, chuir na Sasanaigh cosc ar múineadh na Ghaeilge sna scoileanna, agus, ar ndóigh, an Gorta Mór, i lar na naoú haoise déag, nuair a cailleadh na milliúin daoine de bharr an ocrais, agus chuaigh thart ar mhilliún ar imirce, agus an teanga labhartha in éineacht leo. Cinnte,

rinne daoine agus cumainn gach iarracht fadhbanna mar seo a shárú, cosúil le Hyde, MacNeill, agus Mac Piaras, agus an “Gaelic League” agus “Gaelic Journal”.

Ach, cad atá i gceist sa lá atá inniu ann? Bhuel, deirimse é seo go neamhbhalbh – Sílim go bhfuil a lán daoine ar fad sa tír seo sásta teanga coimhthíoch agus eachtrannach a labhairt. Tá sé seo mícheart, dar liomsa, gan dabht ar bith. Is í an Ghaeilge a dhéanann idirdhealú idir muinne agus cultúir eile. Níl dabht ar bith i m’aigne go treisíonn sí ár n-íomhá mar náisiún neamhspleách. “Tir gan teanga, tír gan anam” agus is é mo thuarim, go bhfuil an sheanfhocal seo thar a bheith oiriúnach.

Ar an gcéad dul síos, tá coincheap na Ghaeilge ag athrú go tapa. Tá a chion féin déanta ag Raidió na Gaeltachta, TG4, agus na nuachtáin Foinse agus Lá ar son na teanga freisin.

Thugann siad deis do dhaoine éisteacht leis an nGaeilge agus a gcuid scileanna teanga a fhor-

bairt. Agus tá an Ghaeilge deacair, tá a fhois ag gach daoine sin, agus tá seirbhisí cosúil le Foras na Gaeilge ag cabhrú na daoine a bhfuil suim acu ann.

Tá níos mó measa ag a lán daoine mar theanga anois agus tá méadú ag teacht i gcónaí ar an líon daoine ar mian leo í a fhoghlaim agus a labhairt.

Deir a lán daoine mura bhfuil Gaeilge acu “Oh, bhuel bhí múinteoir uafásach agam nuair a bhí mé i bunscoil” (Ach, deireann siad sin as béarla, ar ndóigh!), ach ceapaimse féin go bhfuil sé difriúil anois, nó tá súil agam go bhfuil sé, ar aon nós. Sa lá atá inniu ann, tá an teanga á teagasc ar shlí níos taitneamhaí. Agus silim go bhfuil sé tábhachtach ar fad go mbíonn béim láidir ar fhorbairt scileanna labhartha agus éisteachta, seachas ar an litríocht agus ar an bhfocal scríofa, mar a bhí roimhe seo.

Sa lá atá inniu ann in Éirinn, tá deiseanna suntasacha ann chun forbairt ollmhór a dhéanamh ar chúrsaí cultúrtha i

Imeachtaí An Cumann Gaelach Bíonn ciorcail comhrá gach Máirt - seomra 8 agus i ndiaidh sin is féidir dol chuig.........

Club Chonradh na Gaeilge - gach Máirt Oíche na Mac Léinn Ceol Beo agus gach pionta ar trí euro. An craic is fearr ar Shráid Fhearchair! *Nóta : Más i Scoil na Gaeilge atá tú, déan cinnte go n-íocfaidh tú do chuid ballraíochta don Chumann Gaelach an bhliain seo. NÌl ann ach €2 ach tá sé tábhachtach. cumann@csc.tcd.ie

gcoitinne. Tá na Rialtas ag deanamh a lán rud, ach ní leor sin ar bith. Mar shampla, tá cúpla pointí ag Sinn Féin maidir leis ár dteanga ina a polasaí cultúrtha, agus ceapaim go beimid in ann na cuspóirí sin á gnóthú - na nuachtáin Ghaeilge a chothú le tacaíocht ó chiste an rialtais; polasaí dátheangach a chur i bhfeidhm i ngach foirgneamh poiblí, agus i ngach údarás poiblí; córas aistriúcháin a bheith ar fáil i ngach údarás tofa; agus maoiniú méadaithe a thabhairt do Fhoras na Gaeilge.

So, cad a ceapann tú féin? An bhfuil aon solas ag deireadh an tolláin? Gan dabht, tá bóthar mór oibre os ár gcomhair amach, ach má oibrítear le chéile, is féidir a leigheas, dairíre. Tá orainn Gaeilge a bhisigh sna bunscoileanna agus ag an dara leibhéal, agus béim a chur ag na Gaeltachta, agus níos mo ranganna Gaeilge a éagrú. Agus arís, cúpla focal ón Thomas Davis, mar bhí dearcadh dóchasach agus álainn aige, agus is rud inspioráideach é:

“Brighter days shall surely come, and the green flag shall wave on our towers, and the sweet old language be heard once more in college, mart, and

senate… we will hand down to our descendants proofs that we had a language as fit for love, and war, and business, and pleasure, as the world ever

knew…”

Ní neart go cur le chéile.

Díolachán Sclabhaí D.U.B.C. Grace Vaughey Óiche Dé Céadaoin sa "Pav" bhi an teach tabhairne plódaithe le daoine, go háirithe cailíní a bhi ag tnúth leis an eachtra mhór seo! Bhí díolachán neamhghnách ar siúl.

Glaotar chuile rud air, ar nós "cattle drive" agus fiú

"legalised prostitution" ach chun na firinne a rá, is é díolachán ar na rámhaí a bhi i gceist!

Bhailigh club na bádóireachta na strapairí go léir atá acu mar bhaill agus chuirtear ar dhíol iad dos na daoine a theastaigh sclábhaí pearsanta uathu ar feadh 24 uaire. Chuirtear rámhaí ar nós

Joe Calnan, David Cummins agus Jonny Maitland os comhair an slua cailíní. Fiú, chuir an rámhaí idirnáisiúnta, Tim Harnedy, a chuid seirbhísí ar fáil don chailín a bhi toilteannach an uasmhéid airgead a íoc. Bhi mná agus fir ag chaitheamh airgead orthu ag tnúth le sclábhaí pearsanta ámhain don lá. <nó 2 sclábhaí

i gcás Lisa Hayden!!!>.

Bronadh an airgead go léir a bhí bailithe ar "Sightsavers".

Tá dlúthcheangal idir D.U.B.C. agus Sightsavers de dheasca gur chaill Mark Pallock úsáid a shúile roinnt blianta ó shin. Bhi oíche iontach ag cách go háirithe iad son a cheannaigh "Boat Club Boy"

Howl’s Moving Castle - Léirmheas Sarah-Ann Muckley Ag tús an scannáin bíonn Sophie ag sclábhaíocht ó mhaidin go hoíche ag maisiú hataí i siopa hataí a teaghlaigh agus timpeall uirthi tá saol fantaiseach lán le hailtireacht mheánaoiseach, galinnill, cailleacha agus draíodóir. Oíche amháin, i ndiaidh am dúnta an siopa cuireann “the Witch of the Waste” mallacht ar Sophie umhal agus téann an bhean óg i riocht seanmhná.

Ní féidir léi fanacht i dteach a teaghlaigh agus cruth na seanmhná uirthi mar sin cuireann sí chun bóthar chun an chailleach a aimsiú. Leanann sí bata le ceann tornapa air; carachtar ceanúil ciúin lena mbuaileann sí, agus tarlaíonn sí ar chaisleán gluaiste Howl; foirgneamh tionsclaíoch meicniúil mar obair phaistí ag bogadh ar aghaidh ar chosa atá á bhreoslú ag daemón tine soibealta taitneamhach beag darb ainm Calcifer, áit ina bhfaigheann sí foscadh ón aimsir. Faoi mar a théann an t-am thart éiríonn sé sóiléir dúinne

gur beannacht i mbréagriocht í an mhallacht a chuir an chailleach ar Sophie agus tá scéal an scannáin cruthaithe thart ar a turas féin chuig an tuiscint seo.

Faigheann Sophie feidhm agus neart mar shaghas máthar don teaghlach neamhchoinbhinsineach a aimsíonn sí istigh sa chaisleán. Tá sé i ndán di páirt a ghlacadh i misean idirthoimhseach Howl, an draíodóir uasal óg, agus oibríonn a dturas le chéile mar shórt catalaíoch a shábhálann an bheirt acu.

Tá sárshaothar seo Hayao Miyazaki bunaithe ar leabhar a scríobh an scríbhneoir eirimiúil Sasanach, Diana Wynne Jones. Tá Miyazaki ar na stiúrthóirí beochana is fearr sa tSeapáin agus anuas ar seo tá clú agus cáil bainte amach aige mar ealaíontóir tréitheach le léirmheastóir ar fud an domhain. Bíonn na plotaí saoithiúla agus na carachtair shuimiúla aisteacha a chruthaíonn sé an-tarraingteach. Agus cé go bhfuil an plota sa scannán seo trí chéile ar feadh tamaill gearr

agus go n-éirímid mífhoighneach anois is arís leis an radharc iontach gan chiall shoiléir ag baint leis agus cé go bhfuil críoch an scannáin ró choinbhinseanach agus seanfhaiseanta ní thógann na lochtanna ó ionadh an scannáin.

Dar liom féin agus dar le lucht leanúna Miyazaki timpeall an domhain ‘sé na gnéithe is fearr dá scannáin ná an bheochan mhór álainn a bhaineann an anáil díot (gach am a osclaítear doras chaisleán Howl bíonn áit difriúil taobh amuigh: sráidbhaile fuadrach, tuath álainn nó áit mhíleata sceirdiúil) agus an suaimhneas spioradálta cumhachtacha atá i gcontrárthacht ghlan le hanbhuain na gnáthscannán beochana mar Madagascar agus Toy-Story. Dá bhrí sin is uile is scannán iontach uathúil é Howl’s Moving Castle agus is fiú praghas an ticéad pictiúrlainne é mar is sa phictiúrlann amháin is féidir cumhacht an tsárshaothar seo a mhothú i gceart.

Na SclabhaТ ar na dtonnta

Ag Dul Thar Fóir Breandán Ó Beaglaoich Oíche nó dhó ó shin, bhíos féin agus mo chailín ag siúil timpeall lasmuigh den Faiche Stiabhne sular ndeachamar go dtí an phictiúrlann chun faire ar “Wallace and Gromit”. Ní raibh sé ach leathuair tar éis a seacht nó b'fhéidir ceathrú chun a hocht, agus beagánín dorcha,

toisc go bhfuil an gheimhreadh orainn anois. Ag dul thar sráid Dawson dúinn chonaiceamar rud gruama, rud nach cuireann ionadh ar bith orm, agus rud nach chuir ionadh orm le roinnt blianta anuas. Bhí meisceoir ag strácáil siúil in aice siopa rugbaí Elvery's. Ní rud róscannalach é seo, a cheapann tú.

Nach bhfuil meisceoir ag gach coirnéal sa tír seo? Ach rud ní ba huafásach ná é seo ná gur

TЗ na daoine seo ag dul thar fЧi leis an alcЧil

thit sé agus bhuail a cheann le balla an siopa. Bhí slua beag ag siúil timpeall na háite agus iad ina lánúineacha cosúil leis an mbeirt againn.

Ach ní dhearna éinne againn rud ar bith é a chabhrú.

Dúirt mo chailín liomsa "Should we go over to see if he's alright?", ach thug mé freagra macánta di. "When he wakes up in the morning with a bump on his head, he'll think

twice about going overboard again". B'fhéidir nach raibh an cheart agam, ach cad a dhéanfaimis dó? Bhí sé as baile leis an fairsinge alcól a bhí air. Cé nach rabhas an-atruach dó, tá sé thar am don rialtas réiteach a fháil don méid alcólacht atá le feiceáil ar na sráideanna, ní hamháin i lár na cathrach ach ar fud na tíre.

Tuesday November 15, 2005

Trinity News

Editor: Alesya Krit

23

International Students

The ‘unexpectedness’ of Irish weather or do the cliches lie?

Bref survol de

stéréotypes injustes mais vrai

Tony Parsons

Samovari i matreshki ostavte tyristam Alesya Krit Stereotipi vesh’ nepravil’naia i vrednaia. S drugoi storoni esli bi oni ne rabotali - ix bi ne bilo.

Chto takoe Rossia?

Bolshaia strana o kotoroi malo kto malo chego znaet. Nu o chem i govorit, esli menia do six por sprashivaut na kakoi stadii komunizma seichas naxoditsa Rossia?!

Konechno eto nasha je vina, nechego gorodit stolko burokratichesix prepiatstvii dlia

bednix evropeicev, kotorie i slovo ‘viza’ proiznosiat s trudom. Nado priznat’sa, chto konechno etot fakt rasplati gde-to i greet menia, vspominaia skol’ko vremeni i deneg bilo potracheno lichno mnoi dlia peresechenia mnogochislennix granic ‘bezgranichnoi’ evropi.

Poniat je klassiku janra mojno: russkie deistvitelno p’ut vodky i dobivaut mnogo nefti, tam deistvitel’no stanovitsa slishkom xolodno (osobenno za paliarnim krugom) i y rylia deistvitelno stoit nachalnik, vipravki KGB. Navernoe eto i vizivaet interes k strane, kotoryu kogda-to boialis’ i nenavideli i v kotoryu seichas ezdiat stolko turistov: pokupaut matreshki i fotografiryut ‘vojdia narodov’.

Priiatno chto teper i v Trinity est’ studenti, interesyushiesa russkoi storonoi dublinskoi jizni. Naprimer, v proshluy subboty oni organizovivali poxod v pab, podoushii russkyu edy. A v etu sredy oni sobirautsa v pab Kennedy’s, tak chto esli est jelanie pogovorit’ po-russki za pintoi ginnessa - prisoediniaits’!

Za dopolnitelnoi informaciei obrashaites k Dominiky (eslerd@tcd.ie).

Tak chto je mi znaem pro

P a d d y Daniel Isemann Was Vorurteile und Klischees angeht, hat Irland (oder besser: der Ire schlechthin) ja schon einiges zu bieten. Ich will gar nicht den Tadschiken oder den Kirgiesen als Vergleich anführen, für den ein Vorurteil zu bilden, wir uns mangels regelmäßigen Kontakts, gar nicht erst die Mühe machen. Denn auch über einigermaßen prominente Völker wie die Chinesen oder die Kubaner voruteilen wir kaum Präziseres als dass sie gelb sind und dämliche Hüte tragen oder ständig eine Havana rauchen. Detailreicher ist da unser Bild vom Iren. Von ihm glauben wir immerhin zu wissen,

dass er rothaarig, rotbackig, sommersprossig und - wie ich mich erinnere schon als Kind in Huckleberry Finn gelesen zu haben - rauflustig ist. Was die Trinkfreudigkeit der Iren angeht, so mag auch sie dem einen oder anderen als Vorurteil schon in Deutschland zugetragen worden sein. Ich kann mich, nach mehr als einem Jahr, nicht mehr daran erinnern, ob sie zu meinem Vorurteilsbestand über die Iren gezählt hat, bevor ich hierher kam.

Falls es aber so war, dann ist sie vom Vorurteil zum Urteil geworden. Was das angeht darf man wohl ganz offen sein. Kaum ein Ire würde das übel nehmen.

Abgesehen vielleicht von diesem letzten Punkt, habe ich in Irland, wie das mit Vorurteilen halt üblicherweise so ist, dann doch nur Bruchteile von dem Klischee wiedergefunden. Man trifft ihn schon manchmal den rothaarigen und sommersprossigen Iren. Vielleicht ist es aber auch nur die selektive Wahrnehmung die dazu beiträgt, dass einem dieser Typus in Irland besonders häufig auffällt.

Dennoch ein kleiner wahrer Kern wird im Vorurteil aber schon enthalten sein.

Zu dieser Vermutung verleitet schon die Beobachtung, dass das Generalisieren über einen Volkstypus zwar mit Vorsicht zu geniessen, aber dennoch nicht gänzlich

irlandcev?! Skajem priamo: malo.

Posle togo kak ia poluchla priglashenie iz yniversiteta, ia radostno nachala soobshat’ svoim duz’iam, chto poedy ychitsa v Dyblin.

noi projivaut v samoi respublike.

Ne mogy ne ydivliatsa konkyrsy krasoti, proxodiashimy kajdii god v Trali, gde vibiraut samyu simpatichnuy devyshky irlandskogo

Irlandsci - rijevolosie jiteli, borushiesia s liprikonami za zoloto nacii.

Rekcia bila yj slishkom odinakovaia: a v kakoi eto chasti Britanii? Ny vot. Priexali.

Zelenii ostrov, on je ‘izumrudnii’. Nazvanie govorit samo za sebia. I eto tolko potomy, chto na nego s zvidnoi reguliarnost’u obrushivautsa tisiachi litrov dojdia, no blagodaria sil’nomy i postoiannomy vetry nikogda ne znaesh kogda tebia zastanet v rasplox. Govoriat, v peremenchivoi pogode I est’ sut’ irlandskogo xaratera.

Irlandsci - rijevolosie jiteli, borushiesia s liprikonami za zoloto nacii. Poniat’ ix dostatochno trudno: oni ypotrebliaut sotni litrov ginnessa, ne kyriat v pabax i naotrez otkazivautsa priznavat smesiteli v nachale dvadcat’ pervogo veka.

Iz primerno semidesiati milionov irlancev, lish tri s polovi-

proisxojdeniia- zeds’ yje idyt v xod I vnychatie plemianiki trourodnogo dedyshki brata myja materi. Brrr…

A eshe oni yvlekautsa verxovoi ezdoi. Vid sporta za kotorii v proshlom gody irlandia poluchila edinstvennuy medal’.

Odny, no zato zolotuy. Voobshe v irlandii 25 bolshix ippodromov, gde reguliarno provodiatsa skachki. Eshe odna iz zabav rijjevolosoi nacii - sobachi bega. Segodnia malo chto yje napominaet aristokratov i ix gonchix, zato zador i azart poddtalkivaet delat’ stavki kak I nekolko vekov nazad.

Poxoje stereotipi vse je podtalkivaut ludei k dal’neishemy i bolee glubokomy izycheniu obichaev i tradiciii drgix stran i nacional’nostei. Chto j – vse po ‘pybam’!

m e e t s gegenstandslos ist. Ich könnte zwar kaum in Worte fassen, wie mein gewandeltes Bild vom Iren nach einem Jahr aussieht, aber auf einem AerLingus-Flug von München nach Dublin kann ich zumindest in vielen Fällen doch sehr deutlich sagen wer ein Ire oder eine Irin ist

...qu’il vente ou qu’il pleuve les français disent oh la la... type propre au francais qui serait celui de nos obsessions ; ainsi on se rapellera le Marquis de Sade et Gainsbourg qui furent tous deux des personnes d’une extreme complication dans differents domaines, notamment celui de la litterature et

Comme tout le monde, les français évoluent et s’adaptent comme aurait dit tonton Darwin.

Ainsi, l’ensemble des Français. On avait autrefois l’image du Français avec un béret, et une baguette sous le bras. Mais cette image a fait long feu, et elle ne s’applique plus à personne maintenant. Comme tout le monde, les français évoluent et s’adaptent comme aurait dit tonton Darwin.

Donc, si on considère que pour qu’un stéréotype en soit un il faut qu’il y est un fond de vérité, il faudrait faire une petite enquête

tre immoral alors qu’on l’est plus encore soi-meme. En meme temps ce genre de paradoxes se retrouvent aussi dans la vie politique.

Ainsi, la Republique, du fait de ses principes, ne peut pas permettre a ses citoyens d’afficher aucun signe d’appartenance religieuse, du genre le bout de chiffon que les musulmanes se collent sur le citron, mais cette meme Republique pretend en meme temps integrer ses citoyens ce qui donnent une confusion, un paradoxe quasi schyzophrenique dans lequel les ‘citoyens’ ne peuvent trouver d’issue. Une therapie de groupe pour les enfants de la Republique, et pourquois pas ? Les evenements recemment montes en epingles des emeutes de sauvageons peuvent aussi etre eclairants sur la mentalite des francais et par la meme occasion etre l’opportunite de nous fournir un fond de verite qui nous donnerait l’opportunite de depeindre d’autres

de la musique. Il y a dans la mentalite francaise un stereotype que l’on peut imaginer ou plutot que l’on peut peindre ; c’est que l’on peut etre de sacres artistes, ainsi que des sacres grognons bon dieu, mais ce stereotype est encore plus flagrant quand on pense au divin M a r q u i s .

Ce dernier fut condamne par les jacobins pour ses ecrits ; voilà un paradoxe propre a la mentalite francaise: reprocher aux autres d’e-

s t e r e o t y p e s .

Il suffit de voir la gloriole que les francophones tirent de ce que les sauvageons font actuellement: ce sont des sauvageons Français, madame, et ce n’est pas rien. Si vous interrogez les bons bourgeois francophones qui fréquentent notre alma mater, vous verrez qu’ils vont vous répéter fièrement ce qu’ils ont lu dans les journaux et vu a la télé a propos des casseurs. C’est le stéréotype paradoxal du Français: il est ultraconservateur mais, en même temps, il encense ceux qui le mettent en danger, c'est-à-dire ce qui n’est ni poussiéreux, ni cartésien –ce qui revient au même, il est dans le paradoxe du gauchiste caviar. Ah, mais très chère, ces sauvageons sont follement excitants, mais qu’ils mangent de la brioche. Cette critique est sans doute trop liée a la situation actuelle, mais bon, allez dis, il faut que l’on s’en retourne a notre confort.

F r i t z

schmerzlicher wird es da, wenn es um den deutschen Humor geht. Auf einer Toilette im Hamilton Building habe ich folgenden Witz gelesen: "German humour: A man walks into a bar... his drinking problem causes pain, trouble and depression for his wife and kids".

"German humour: A man walks into a bar... his drinking problem causes pain, trouble and depression for his wife and kids" und wer nicht, auch ohne den oder die betreffende sprechen zu hören.

Das funktioniert natürlich auch umgekehrt. Mein Freund Gerard, der am Trinity College studiert und ein Erasmusjahr in München verbracht hat, spielt seit seiner Rückkehr mit großer Freude und großem Erfolg, wie ich höre, das Spiel “Spot the German”. “I think he has not been proved wrong so far” kommentiert einer seiner Freunde Gerards Trefferquote.

Mit Sicherheit stehen die Deutschen den Iren an Klischeebeladenheit um nichts nach. Zuerst wären da natürlich die Pünktlichkeit und die Ordnungsliebe zu nennen. Damit könnte man als Deutscher noch gut leben, vielleicht sogar, ähnlich wie die Iren auf ihre Trinkfreudigkeit, ein wenig stolz darauf sein. Viel

Les Français ne peuvent évidemment pas être catalogués, ils ne peuvent pas être stéréotypés, car nous sommes les plus forts, les plus beaux et puis voilà, c’est comme ca; c’est nous qu’on est des français. Comment ca grandes gueules? Mais rappelez-vous: nous sommes les grandes consciences de notre temps. En fait, voila une des caractéristiques que certains reprochent aux Français, et cette caractéristique est devenue un stéréotype, c’est qu’ils sont trop fiers d’eux-mêmes. Pourtant ce n’est pas justifie car ce genre de stéréotype n’est pas vraiment applicable a tous.

Qu’entend-on par stéréotype? C’est une image qu’on a de quelqu’un, ou d’un groupe de gens; par exemple le stéréotype de l’Anglais, en général, c’est qu’il oit un thé a cinq heures le petit doigt en l’air en prononçant régulièrement des ‘yes indeed’ et qu’en plus, il pisse froid –sans oublier la réputation d’être plutot hypocrite.

Comme on le voit, il peut y avoir un fond de vérité dans les stéréotypes. Il semble qu’un stéréotype, ce soit un défaut que l’on souligne, un trait de caractère grossi a la loupe. C’est possible de trouver des caractères communs à tous les groupes, mais alors il faudrait que l’on définisse le groupe a propos duquel on cause.

auprès de personnes différentes pour savoir quel est le trait que l’on pourrait moquer tout en restant h o n n ê t e .

Réfléchissons tous ensemble, faisons un petit effort pour trouver des stéréotypes au Français. Ah, mais oui: qu’il vente ou qu’il pleuve les français disent oh la la. Une autre image qu’on a des français c’est que ce sont des révoltés –je ne suis pas si sur que cela soit vrai, car on préfère quand même l’ordre et la sécurité dans not’ bonne vieille France, il y a bien quelques sauvageons qui cassent, c’est vrai, mais ce ne sont que des amusements sans grande incidence sur la vie politique du pays-. Ah, par contre un stéréotype qui se rapporte a un trait propre a la mentalité des français c’est qu’on est assez chauvin. On est fier de not’ bon’ vieil’ France. La France, messieurs, c’est ca la France.

Mais, il y a un autre stereo-

Auf einem Empfang im College habe ich mich einmal mit einem älteren Iren unterhalten.

Nachdem das Gespräch einige Minuten ganz angenehm verlaufen war, meinte er – offensichtlich als eine Art von Kompliment – ich wäre ja so gar nicht deutsch, eher irisch von meiner Art her.

Vielleicht kann man die Vorurteile gegen Deutsche für sich arbeiten lassen, indem man einfach ein bisschen netter und humoriger ist als das Gegenüber es von einem durchschnittlichen Deutschen erwartet. Dem Toilettenspruch nach zu urteilen sollte das nicht allzu schwer fallen. Und eine Portion Unpünklichkeit schadet in Irland auch nichts.

Von Seiten meines Vermieters bin ich auf eine besonders perverse Form mit meinem

"Deutschtum" konfrontiert worden.

Er hat gottseidank nicht im selben Haus gewohnt, so dass ich ihn nur höchst selten gesehen habe. Bei zwei Anlässen hat er mir aber ausführlich vorgerechnet, wie genial die deutsche Wehrmacht war und wie leicht sie den Krieg hätte gewinnen können, wenn Hitler nicht so ein Idiot gewesen wäre.

Unter anderem musste ich, leicht betreten dreinschauend, eine detailierte Liste deutscher Panzertypen mit all ihren “Vorzügen” über mich ergehen lassen. Ich bin schon oft mit der “deutschen Vergangenheit” konfrontiert worden, aber das war eine der Situationen in denen ich am wenigsten wusste, wie ich damit umgehen sollte.

Dem Büchersortiment bei Easons nach zu urteilen, könnte diese Art von Militärfetischismus in Irland sogar weiter verbreitet sein. Vielleicht liege ich damit aber auch falsch.

Unter Trinitystudenten ist sie mir jedenfalls nie begegnet.

Unter dem Strich kann man sagen, dass der Satz “Die Iren sind freundlich” doch ein ziemlich zutreffendes Vorurteil wäre. Auch wenn Iren selbst das zum Teil verneinen. Ich würden sagen es s t i m m t .

Ohne zum Schluss in Klischees verfallen zu wollen, lässt sich folgende Faustregel angeben: Wenn ihr auf einer Party mit irischen und internationalen Studenten seid und jemand sagt zu euch: "Help yourself to a drink!", dann ist er vermutlich irisch. Wenn sich jemand zu euch umdreht und

mit gequetschter Stimme kräht: "Are you fromm Ireland?", dann ist er sicherlich deutsch. Und wenn jemand den ihr noch nie gesehen

habt zu euch rüberkommt und fragt: "What part of Germany are you from?", dann ist es Gerard.

The topic of the next issue is the crucial question: What’s the point of irish pubbing? so if you would like to share some impressions or if you have a nice story to tell us, please contact via cell 0851495979 or by mail krita@tcd.ie and leave your article before the 20th of November. If any questions occur to you, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

I’d love to get to know you.

Take care, yours Alesya.

24 Tuesday November 15, 2005

Science Editor: Oliver North

SCIENCE

Trinity News

Relatively Speaking Long before he patented his famous “mad-scientist” hairdo Albert Einstein was already astonishing the world of physics with his theories. Here we look back on one of his less well known (but still equally implausible) conjectures As well as being the 50th anniversary of his death, 2005 is also (rather neatly) the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s so-called annus mirablis in 1905, when he packed more incredible scientific theories into a single year than you could fit squirrels in an oil tanker.

Among them was his most famous theory, E=mc2 ,showing that energy and mass were effectively interchangeable and that a tiny amount of mass will convert into a massive amount of energy (think atomic bombs), as well as the lesser known theory of Special Relativity.

Special Relativity was born out of the frankly rather puzzling results two fellows called Michelson and Morley had recorded when calculating the speed of light relative to the earth’s motion through space, namely that it does not change.

“Fair enough” I hear you say, but think of it like this: imagine you are on a train travelling 50 km/h and are walking along the carriage at 5km/h, in the same direction as the train is moving, looking for a seat, as you do. The speed at which you are now travelling depends on where the measurements are being taken from; to an observer standing on the platform you are moving at 55km/h, but to someone on the same train you are moving at only 5km/h. The results

of Michelson and Morley experiment claim that for light this is not true, wherever you take your readings from the speed of light remains constant.

For the results of their experiment to be theoretically possible Michelson and Morley could only conclude that the earth wasn’t moving at all.

Unfortunately they knew it was moving and so were understandably rather stumped by their results. This is where the previously unknown patent office clerk Albert Einstein stepped in when

of time becomes, as well as your mass increasing, if you were to travel at the speed of light the flow of time would cease altogether, your mass increase to infinity and your size reduce to zero. With your mass at infinity it would require an infinite force to accelerate you so Einstein concluded that it was impossible to travel faster than the speed of light. But back to the first statement, the faster you travel the slower the passage of time becomes, think about that for a second and it will most probably

“The faster you travel, the slower the passage of time becomes...” he submitted his theory of Special Relativity to a journal in 1905, aged just 26 (I hope all of you over 26 feel suitably humbled by this fact. I, being just 19, have huge faith in my ability to reach that kind of zenith in the next 7 years). The crux of his theory is this: whilst the speed of light may stay fixed, time is relative, the closer you travel to the speed of light the more time dilates, which explains why however fast you may be travelling relative to light its speed is always constant.

The results of this are genuinely extraordinary: the faster you travel the slower the passage

Wiki-Madness Jonathan Lobel charts the alleged rise and rise of ‘wikis’ Collaboration on the Internet way back in 1995 and explained through “wikis” is quickly the term “WikiWiki” as Hawaiian becoming a viable and effective for “quick,” apparently referring means to collect and maintain to the speed at which users edit vast amounts of information. wiki pages. Now anyone with a Never heard of a wiki? Wikis are web server can set up a wiki utinot like the furry Ewoks in lizing free, open-source software Return of the Jedi. Wikis are (twiki.org, among others). websites, the content of which Cynical readers should may be edited and maintained by be quick to recognize the probanyone. Yes, anyone. lems with wikis, including the ‘Wiki’s harness special opportunity for vandalism and web server technology allowing false information. Using an open web design illiterates to add their wiki, anyone can edit information knowledge to a website without anonymously. The user base for writing a Wikipedia scrap of is very code. The “The information you find large and web server may be straight from any generally then adds bum on the street or even e n s u r e s appropriate that vanone who lectures Tuesday dalism and formatting to the entry mornings” pranks are and makes repaired it immediately available for within minutes. I tested this by everyone to view as part of the imaginatively posting “Trinity wiki website. Others may add to, College sucks” on the TCD entry revise or edit the information. and found my alteration repaired Google Search often in ten minutes (opinions returns results linking to articles expressed do not represent anyin a vast wiki encyclopedia one in particular, especially the called Wikipedia (wikipedia.org) author). More sinister problems that is written and maintained by are entrenched in the variable its users for free. According to quality of information available their website, Wikipedia has through open Internet media. approximately 13,000 active Encyclopedias are traditionally contributors working on viewed as definitive information 1,800,000 articles available in sources. How can we translate more than 100 languages. Those that association to a wiki format numbers are growing daily as where anyone anywhere may ordinary people add their own have posted information? Does a knowledge to the repository. large user base ensure authenticiAnyone is welcome to read what ty and balance of opinion? Blogs others have posted and add to it. make opinions, not necessarily You might add your favorite stufacts, public and widely availdent society to the partial list in able. Wikis may turn out to be no the TCD entry. Additionally, the more than glorified, public access people at Wikipedia sponsor blogs. The potential for false, tiltother wiki-based projects includ- ed, discrediting, or opinionated ing a dictionary, a species direcinformation is foreboding. tory, open-content textbooks, and Perhaps we should be wary of a collection of quotes – all based blindly believing whatever peoon the concept of a free, demople or communities say on the cratic information source.

Internet.

Wikipedia may be the For better or worse, largest wiki, but it is not alone. wikis echo the idea of the Internet Hundreds of thousands of wikis as a democratic community pepper the internet with endless where people collaborate easily uses. Some are limited to closed for free. You may find the comcommunities of editors (and/or munity or information you are viewers) while many are com- looking for in a wiki, but beware pletely open. The applications -the information you find may be include education sites, to-do straight from any bum on the lists, and fan documentation of street or even one who lectures internet cartoons. The Portland Tuesday mornings.

Pattern Repository designed the original wiki (c2.com/cgi/wiki)

fly in the face of everything you ever thought about time. No longer is time a concept invented by humans to make it easier when you wake up to judge how soon the pubs will be opening, it is now a very real and definable quantity that can be slowed down by breaking into a simple jog (though be warned if that jog is on the way to the pub at 11am your experience of time will slow down, hindering your progress towards that first pint, albeit only slightly. Why is it that the physics and sobriety are always such sycophantic bedfellows?).

This dilation of time has

not only huge bearing on scientific thinking but also on aspects of the Arts; what credibility can we give cause and effect when the passing of time is so fickle a friend? Where then does this leave determinism? Fascinating questions indeed. Slightly more interesting is how Special Relativity scientifically legitimises time travel; if you were to travel for a long period of time at 99% the speed of light the passing of time would be significantly slowed for you to have journeyed into the future by virtue of having lived less time than others. Whilst you may only have been travelling near light speed for 1 year, 10 years may have passed for others moving more slowly.

In order to dilate time in any noticeable way though, you must reach a substantial fraction of light speed, it is not until travelling well above 99% the speed of light that any effects would be obvious, and since we can barely even imagine travelling that quickly this property of Special Relativity seems without uses in the world around us. But some things do travel at the speed of light; (most obviously light itself) electromagnetic energy waves, and as we know from a paper published later in the same year E=mc2,energyand mass are the same thing, in different forms…

Einstein, seen here sporting his world-famous hairstyle

Wacky Science, Wackier Puns Nicola Hughes rounds up the IgNobel awards, which celebrate the crazy side of scientific endeavour...

On the 6th October at Harvard University an event took place that the eminent science journal, Nature, calls “the highlight of the scientific calendar”. It was The 15th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony!

The Ig Nobels are run by the science humour magazine Annals of Improbable Research.

The gongs are there to recognise achievements which “cannot, or should not, be reproduced”. The first awards were held in 1991 with an aim to “first make people laugh, and then make them think”.

It has proven very popular and the prizes are even handed out by genuine Nobel laureates. There is

even an Ig Informal Lecture Series in MIT this year.

The prize categories are: Peace, Literature, Economics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Medicine, Statistics, Engineering, Psychology and a few odd categories like Astrophysics, Fluid dynamics, Nutrition and Agricultural History. Not all categories are represented each year and the awards are mainly based in the scientific community. The awards are given for genuine achievements and publications, so for those of you struggling for a serious publication look away now.

In this year’s ceremony, attended by 1200 splendidly

Chuffed to bits- receiving their awards

eccentric spectators, awards were given out by Nobel Laureates Sheldon Glashow (Physics ‘79), Dudley Herschbach (Chemistry ‘86), William Lipscomb (Chemistry ‘76) and Richard Roberts (Medicine ‘73). One laureate was even given away in the Wi n - a - D a t e - w i t h - a - N o b e l -

were feeling stressed.

The Ig Nobel prize for nutrition went to Dr. Yoshiro Nakamats of Tokyo, Japan, for photographing and retrospectively analysing every meal he has consumed during a period of 34 years (and counting).

Other brilliant winners

“The invention of the comb-over was awarded, and the founders of a Stalin-based theme park were given the Ig Nobel Peace Prize...”

Laureate Contest.

The award for medicine was outstanding this year and was given to Gregg A. Miller of Oak Grove, Missouri, for inventing Neuticles — artificial replacement testicles for dogs, which are available in three sizes, and three degrees of firmness. It referenced the book Going Going NUTS!, which is sadly not in the library.

The award for chemistry went to Edward Cussler of the University of Minnesota and Brian Gettelfinger of the University of Minnesota, for conducting a careful experiment to settle the longstanding scientific question: can people swim faster in syrup or in water? I suppose there’s only one way to find out.

The award for biology went to a group of scientists from Australia, Switzerland and Canada for painstakingly smelling and cataloguing the peculiar odours produced by 131 different species of frogs when the frogs

include, for physics: “Coordination Modes in the Multisegmental Dynamics of Hula Hooping”; “An Analysis of the Forces Required to Drag Sheep over Various Surfaces”; “Demonstration of the Exponential Decay Law Using Beer Froth”; and various achievements such as the conclusion that the calcium in chickens’ eggshells is created by a process of cold fusion and the discovery that black holes fulfil all the technical requirements to be the location of Hell.

For medicine: “The Effect of Country Music on Suicide”; “Scrotal Asymmetry in Man and in Ancient Sculpture” – ancient sculptures had larger left testicles whereas the opposite is true in nature, apparently ; “Injuries Due to Falling Coconuts”; “Acute Management of the Zipper-Entrapped Penis” and for carefully collecting, classifying, and contemplating which

kinds of containers patients chose when submitting urine samples.

For chemistry: an investigation of a bronze statue, in the city of Kanazawa, that fails to attract pigeons; for gathering many elements of the periodic table, and assembling them into the form of a four-legged periodic-table table; and an infidelity detection spray that wives can apply to their husbands’ underwear.

For biology: “Sounds Produced

by Herring Bubble Release” – how herrings communicate by farting; “The First Case of Homosexual Necrophilia in the Mallard Anas platyrhynchos”; “Courtship Behaviour of Ostriches Towards Humans Under Farming Conditions in Britain” and for inventing Under-Ease, airtight underwear with a replaceable charcoal filter that removes badsmelling gases before they escape.

For maths: “The Relationship Among Height, Penile Length, and Foot Size” and for a mathematical county-bycounty estimate of how many Alabama citizens will go to Hell if they don’t repent. In other categories, the invention of the combover was awarded and the founders of a Stalin-based theme park were given the Ig Nobel Peace Prize. The Ig Nobels are doing a tour of the UK and Ireland in March of next year. I’m already there.

Stag night spirals out of control Elks, like the Irish, have for years struggled to free themselves from the negative stereotype of being drunken miscreants, downing the ale until they can no longer see and then wreaking havoc on the tranquillity of the night. However Swedish elks have recently blotted the copybook for the rest of their species; last week The Guardian reporting that a ‘drunken party of elks attacked an old people’s home’.

The combination cloven-hooves and a lack of opposable thumbs mean that an elk cannot wander into any reputable tavern and ask for a pint

like the rest of us, lacking, as they do, the manual dexterity to hold the glass, preferring instead to gorge themselves on fermented apples before running riot in the towns and villages around Malmo. With the tone of someone beginning to tire of the elks’ drunken antics, local man Fredrik Jonsson told a Swedish paper “It’s not unusual for elks to get drunk” before attempting an unconvincing defence of their behaviour: “They don’t recognise the difference between fermented and nonfermented apples”. A likely story, see how far it gets you if ever you’re pulled up for drink driving.

The recent attack on the old people’s home which eventually had to be broken up by armed police is just one episode in a growing elk-based crime wave, which includes an incident last year where an elk, somewhat ambitiously perhaps, stole a bicycle from a couple’s garden. The bike was later found bent and damaged ‘beyond repair’ - we can only conclude that the sorry animal was either cycling under the influence or had never been taught how to properly ride a bike.

Elk, out on the lash

Sports Features Editor: Theo O’Donnell

Tuesday November 15th, 2005

Trinity News

SPORTS

25

FEATURES

Solid as a ROCK Robert Ryan spent the day with the man behind the Castlerock legend Ross O’Carroll-Kelly - Sunday Tribune sports editor Paul Howard When Paul Howard rolled into Trinity to read passages from his latest Ross O’Carroll-Kelly book, there was many an expectant punter hoping to see their favourite Dubes- wearing, rugger-bugger addressing his faithful followers.

Instead someone bearing a closer resemblance to Ross’ nerdish friend Fionn took to the stage.

While he may not have the dashing good looks of Ross, Howard comes across as an affable character with a natural wit. The personification of Ross comes alive as Howard reads passages in the D4 dialogue, perfectly intonating every ‘Roysh’ and ‘Loike’.

There’s a bit of him in all of the books characters and the similarity to Ross should include Howard’s black Golf GTI (complete with alloy wheels).

Appreciative glances towards beautiful college girls adds further to the illusion.

Having worked as a sports journalist at the Sunday Tribune for nearly seventeen years, it was while reporting on Leinster schools rugby that the character of Ross O’Carroll-Kelly was born.

Howard had planned to report on the extravagant lifestyles lead by members of the elite rugby teams of South Dublin. However he was met with opposition from powerful

parents who were afraid that the reputation of their sons and schools would be tarnished if reported in a negative light. Frustrated and angry at this insurmountable obstacle, Howard wrote a satirical piece attacking the stereotypical culture of D4 rich kids. He planned to call the central character Ross, as he felt it was a popular name for children christened in the 1980s. A colleague at the Tribune, Gerard Siggins suggested the O’Carroll Kelly surname, to complete the ‘ROCK’ nod towards Blackrock College.

Having developed the character into a weekly column, Ross O’Carroll-Kelly grew in popularity and it wasn’t long before the chronicles of Ross’ misadventures were appearing in paperback.

When Howard started writing the book he was fascinated about the jock culture and the whole idea of “how someone can be thick as a brick, look like Shane McGowan and still manage to breeze through school and social situations”.

That’s what translated into the generic Ross figure; a stereotype he claims that guys who don’t play rugby will be well familiar with.

“You’re in a nightclub; you’ve put an hour of spade-work into chatting up one girl, when some Shane

Byrne lookalike walks in, ears like two satellite dishs, sweating profusely, no neck and proceeds to wipe your eye. There’s a lot of bitterness there and a lot of axes to grind”.

Drawing from the lives of people he knows, people he’s observed and conversations he’s overheard, Howard collects a wealth of material he then uses to illustrate the tales of Ross. Howard believes strongly in having to always have an awareness of what is going on around him. “Never miss a conversation, to always be listening and on the look-out”.

Many a night spent eavesdropping in Kiely’s or a trip on the 46A has provided plenty of material for the column. However these days he finds it increasingly difficult to remain inconspicuous. He is often met with a shout of “Watch what you say!” Therefore he feels a great sense of relief from the Ross O’Carroll Kelly text line, which allows his column readers to inform him of the latest Dublin trends in return for having an acknowledgement printed alongside the column.

The only time that Howard had difficulty in writing his Ross O’Carroll Kelly column was during the Anabel’s trial.

Ireland Look to the Future After the demolition by New Zealand at the weekend, some have lost confidence in the national set-up. But with some of the most exciting crop of talent in years coming through, the future isn’t necessarily grim for Ireland

Jonathan Drennan Out with old and in with the new.

Eddie O’Sullivan last Saturday was forced into his most dramatic squad selection of his tenure as coach. For a man known colloquially as ‘Steady Eddie’ such is stubbornness to embrace new players in the national team, the squad that faced the All Blacks was a surprise to put it mildly. The result was horrible but the need for change was paramount in a team that in the past has rested on its laurels. For the loyal Irish Rugby fans that have supported their heroes in green through the depression that descended on the game here circa 1995, they may be feeling déjà vu but there is hope for those despondent souls.

Ireland enjoys an incredible support of grass roots rugby, namely the school’s game.

There is nowhere else in the world that gives as much newspaper and television coverage to a group of teenagers chasing a rugby ball. In 1999 an under-19 team featuring Brian O’Driscoll won the world cup, yet from that team only O’Driscoll and Ciaran Scally went on to gain senior caps. This highlighted a huge gap between

senior and junior rugby and thankfully these issues have started to be addressed.

The emergence of IRFU academies have started to reap rewards with the province of the moment being Ulster. Under the tenure of former Ireland player Allen Clarke, the academy has produced a range of provincial players who have are now starting to gain international prominence.

Tommy Bowe a native of Monaghan who was educated in the wilds of Armagh has now emerged as a winger with the physicality and flair to make the Ireland right wing position his own.

“The Irish team has world class players but they are in short supply...”

Andrew Trimble has perhaps the most frightening potential of any young player in Ireland. At 22 years old, a slightly built centre he has the second best strength ratio in the Ulster squad behind the gigantic Roger Wilson and could challenge D’Arcy in the future as O’Driscoll’s partner in the center. Wilson a former stu-

Anthony Foley... a victim of O’Sullivan’s cull?

dent at Trinity is another graduate of the academy to gain caps for Ireland although he is suffering from Ireland’s rare embarrassment.

In Leinster Robert Kearney a nineteen-year-old student at University College Dublin has broken into the Ireland squad one year after playing school’s rugby for Clongowes, after outstanding performances on the wing and at fullback for his province. Jamie Heaslip once nominated as IRB young player of the year is also finally getting his place in the sun after a long wait due to university studies.

All the players mentioned are raw and untested at the highest level. Blooding them against the likes of the All Blacks may seem foolhardy but it’s a necessary step the management must take in their development as players. Playing against Romania will brutally show them one thing, how to run back to the half-way line after scoring a try. Ahead of the World Cup in 2007 these players need to play the best in the world.

O’Sullivan has finally recognised that with Ireland’s slim player base the focus has to shift to youth sooner rather than later.

Servants such as Reggie Corrigan and Anthony Foley have played a huge part in Ireland’s recent halcyon days where the fans expect their team to beat every country placed in front of them. However, new leaders are needed especially in the forwards were injuries are starting to take their toil.

The Irish team has world class players but they are in short supply. Tthe harsh truth is that at this present moment and time if Ireland are to progress in world rugby they need to unearth more O’Connells and O’Driscolls.

Lady Luck has been relied upon far too much in the past with injuries, the time is nigh to create more resources to fall back on in the case of injuries. The youth in the current Ireland squad is bursting with talent; it just needs to be nurtured in the right way. No doubt, Ireland will experience more heavy defeats during this year and morale will sag but after rebuilding has been completed in the very near future, Ireland could be entering a golden era.

Aspects of the trial reflected dangerously close to what he was writing in his column (even down to the drinks the accused were drinking the night in question) and it felt a little too close to the bone. A later innocent reference to buckled shoes was met with controversy when a prudish reader felt that it referred back to the trial.

Howard originally thought that there would only be three books in the series, but after the success of the fourth he found himself wrestling with his conscience between whether to be an artist or commercially successful.

Apart from his Ross O’Carroll Kelly duties, Howard is also chief sportswriter for the Sunday Tribune and a former Irish Sports Journalist of the Year. He has written several non-fiction books including The Joy, Riding High, Celtic Warrior and The Gaffers.

The release of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightdress brings the number of Ross O’Carroll Kelly books to five. Howard confesses that he fears that the material will eventually run out and admits that there is only so much life in the series.

Unfortunately he thinks that the sixth book (currently being written) may be the last. He doesn’t

want to continue the series forever and imagines adopting a similar tactic to Sue Townsend’s Adrian Mole series, by returning to the character in twenty years time.

Sometime in the near future Howard hopes to start writing a serious fictional Irish detective story.

Ross O’Carroll Kelly has tapped into a cultural phenomenon and his name has become a byword for all that is perceived to be wrong in Celtic Tiger Ireland. Though it is largely viewed as satire, there are those who view Ross as a role model and an idol. People have started to imitate Ross’ pastime of driving through disadvantaged areas in expensive cars, shouting “Affluence!” at passers-by.

However, Howard does not feel a responsibility for developing this icon for the Celtic Tiger pups and says that he is merely holding a mirror up to this aspect of modern Ireland. He feels amazed that after all this time that he’s still getting away with it. The stereotypes he writes about don’t seem to realise that he is targeting them; mistakenly laughing along when in fact the joke is on them. “Who wants to point themselves out as a wealthy, self-obsessed jock?” But he does feel a sense of gratification when

he hears a phrase he’s invented coming back at him.

As previously seen in the writings of Roddy Doyle and Irvine Welsh, an important aspect of Ross O’Carroll Kelly is the dialogue. Howard feels that the phonetic representation of the D4 accent helps to drive the story and adds to satirical nature of the stories. A UCD linguistics lecturer has even gone so far as to explain the nuances of the Ross O’Carroll Kelly language, describing it as Hiberno-English!

Unsurprisingly, the success of Ross O’Carroll Kelly has attracted the attention of the movie-makers. Despite the film rights to the series having been bought numerous times, nothing has come to fruition. However, most recently there is a hope that a new acquisition of the rights may bring The Orange Mocha Frappachino Years to our screens.

Howard himself has no interest in seeing Ross committed to celluloid and wishes only to be present on the day of casting for the character of Ross. His ideal choice for the role would be Brian O’Driscoll, although he thinks it might be wise to put the casting couch in the UCD Arts Block.

The selected passages from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightdress whetted the appetite and showed that while Ross may be older and wiser, he’s still up to his dirty old tricks. For those sharp enough to notice, the title is a reference to Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Howard was a huge fan of the book and would love to be able to write a serious piece of fiction like this. By name-checking the title of the book, he feels it may be the closest he’ll get.

Despite his humble feelings about his writing talents Howard can rest assured that he will be included amongst those literary greats who have all managed to find a voice for the Ireland of their time. Hopefully after a break from the Ross O’Carroll Kelly series, Howard will return with yet more events from the life of Ross.

We’ll all be waiting expectantly, just like we used to for Santa Claus!

Who’s the best bet?

Jonny Walls examines whether the FAI’s ineptitude has hindered their chances of getting the best man to replace Brian Kerr The Football Association of Ireland’s quest for a successor to Brian Kerr was always likely to be met with obstacles along the way, but the men at Merrion Square have not helped their cause by the way they have gone about the process thus far.

When the final whistle went at Landsdowne Road to confirm the draw with Switzerland and therefore Ireland’s elimination from the World Cup, Kerr’s contract had officially come to an end and the FAI had the right to begin looking for a replacement. They should have done this but clearly failed to do so.

Over the following days the media and fans waited for the inevitable sacking of a man who had achieved so much with the country’s youth teams over the years. Almost a week later at the association’s board meeting official confirmation came that Kerr’s services were no longer required but the intervening period had seen no attempt by the FAI to sound out possible candidates for a successor. If they had done so, the board could have been made

aware of the viable alternatives to the then current boss, and in the event they were not happy there would have been at least the possibility of Kerr keeping his job.

The decision of the power brokers not to do this is a clear indication that they felt anyone was better than Kerr. Clearly this is not the case as even if one

“It would help if the top brass in Merrion Square went about finding their man in a more efficient manner...” finds another manager with similar credentials, the Dubliner had three years experience in the job and had clearly built up a strong rapport with the players and backroom staff. The obvious question: “If we sack him can we get somebody better?”, it appears was never seriously considered.

Furthermore, just 10 days after Kerr’s sacking the bookies’ favourite to succeed him,

Martin O’Neill, asserted that not only was he uninterested in the post due to family circumstances but he had not been approached by the FAI in relation to the job.

This beggars belief. O’Neill ticks all the boxes as far as a prospective Ireland manager is concerned.

He brought success to Leicester City in England and Glasgow Celtic in Scotland with limited resources, he’s also Irish and not currently in a job. Of course due to the fact that his wife’s illness had caused him to quit the Celtic job just six months ago, he was unlikely to be in a position take over from Kerr but it was worth asking.

One could argue that having turned down the offer he was hardly going to undermine the authority of whoever subsequently got the job by claiming he was offered it first. However in reality O’Neill knows that these invariably get leaked to the media and so if it occurred there is little point in denying it. At any rate this proves the FAI had as this point failed to include one of the few quality candidates in the initial

Kerr reflects on how difficult it’s going to be to replace him...

shortlist.

Of course there are difficulties in securing the services of a top quality manager that FAI cannot affect. One of the candidates to replace Mick McCarthy three years ago was Frenchman Philippe Troussier. Though he was not considered for the post this time around he is generally accepted as an international manager of genuine repute. Just a few weeks ago the Moroccan FA secured his services for an estimated 750,000 Euro a year. The FAI wouldn’t even be in a position to offer Kerr’s successor a salary half as tempting as that.

When you add to that the fact that the only Irishman currently managing in the Premiership doesn’t want the job, then it’s easy to see that it won’t be easy to improve on the last manager.

Nevertheless it would help if the top brass in Merrion Square went about finding their man in a more efficient manner.

Sports Editor: Peter Henry

Tuesday November 15, 2005

Trinity News

SPORT

Soccer team off to a shaky start John Lavelle Dublin University 2 Royal College of Surgeons 1 DU Association Football Club’s hesitant start to the Irish University League season continued with an unconvincing 2-1 victory at home to Royal College of Surgeons on Wednesday, November 2.

The Trinity line up contained several notable changes after a disappointing 2-1 defeat at the hands of NUI Maynooth in the first match of the season. But despite the new faces, Trinity found themselves a goal down almost immediately. An RCSI striker slotted the ball past Trinity goalkeeper Colm Morris just twenty minutes into the first half after a defensive error, shocking the College Park faithful.

DU responded shortly afterwards with a cracking strike from midfielder Niall Minihan.

The Surgeons’ goalkeeper got a hand to the ball but couldn’t keep out Minihan’s looping volley, and the sides were level at half time.

Trinity continued to pile on the pressure in the second half.

Heavyweight striker David Reddin came close to finding the net, hitting the post on a number of occasions. As RCSI battled to stay in the game, their task was made more difficult when they were reduced to 10 men on 60 minutes.

The Surgeons’ captain was given his marching orders after sending Reddin tumbling as he bore down on goal.

But as Trinity pushed forward in search of a winner, they looked vulnerable on the counter attack at times. Morris had to produce a fine save to stop an RCSI striker after he latched on to a stray Trinity pass.

The Club’s breakthrough finally came with just five minutes remaining. The Surgeons defence failed to deal with a Trinity cross and striker Will Pender was on hand to smash the ball home from close range after a goalmouth scramble.

And 2-1 it finished. DU came away with all three points despite a patchy display. An improved performance will be needed if the same result is to be achieved against DCU, who visit College Park tomorrow.

Harriers off to a bright start Mark Kirwan There has been a bright start to the season for the Harriers since the return to College. Numbers attending are up across the board in both the sprints and cross country training which bodes well for the upcoming varsity competitions.

The Dublin City Marathon took over the city last Bank Holiday Monday the 31st of October with several members of DUHAC running superbly in the upper echelons of the field. In the womens race had an unbelievable run to come home as 3rd Irish lady overall in . Some other great performances came in the mens race from Alan Coakley and our Italian friend Simone who were both just outside the three hour mark.

In the Trinity one-mile handicap run held around the grounds on Thursday last there

were some great performances form new members to the club. In the men’s race Simon Taggart finished fast to claim the overall win with Conor Johnston third overall taking the handicap prize. The women’s race saw a strong front runner with Siobhán taking the overall win and Caoimhe’s final sprint giving her the handicap win.

The race acted as a warm up for the first intervarsity event of the year: the Maynooth Road Relays which will take place around NUI Maynooth’s campus on Saturday the 19th. Last year Trinity had five teams competing in both the men’s and women’s races with the top men’s team just outside the medals in fourth and the women’s team fifth. With luck and determination medals are there for the taking this year.

Training is on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at six and Wednesday at seven for circuits, all at Luce Hall.

Short Sport Report Hockey Club win Irish intervarsities

In Black and Green: DU Hockey Club men celebrate last week’s intervarsity win.

The Club’s first XI beat Cork IT 2-1 in the final.

Photo: Adam Ward

DU Football Club thrashed by Garryowen Kay Bowen Dublin University Garryowen

6 44

Quite what Trinity had in their water on the morning of Saturday, November 6, has still to be determined. In the first five minutes of this AIL game on Saturday the team was reduced to carnage. A series of freak injuries had four of their players injured, second row Marc Warburton (neck) and centre Brian Hastings (knee ligaments) leaving the field at one minute and three minutes off the start, and two more: Niall Conlon (on and off the field with a broken nose) and Philip Rowe (dead leg) walking wounded who later departed the field just after half time. With only five subs in AIL games these injuries were impossible to cover for.

Despite these injuries Trinity led for the entire first half and went into half time 6-6 on the back of penalties from Johnny Watt and Donal Crotty. The game was scrappy in the first half with all the stoppages. Trinity struggled to get any front ball, there for not getting any continuity.

In the second half Trinity

went down to fourteen men when flanker Richard White was sinbinned. Garryowen took full advantage and scored ten points in his absence. Trinity then tried to move the ball from deep, but inaccurate passing ended up with the students standing under their own posts, which pretty much ended the game as a competitive contest. As the game progressed Garryowen became more confident and took over the game. They ran in five tries in total much to the delight of their supporters. Their kicker Conor Kilroy kicked nine kicks, five conversions, and four penalties.

In a game like this it is difficult to get any positives for Trinity. But the students’ spirit in what was non-stop defence had to be applauded and nobody dropped their heads. In sport you get some days like this, this was certainly the first hammering in many years for Trinity.

In Santry on Sunday the 7th, three teams from Trinity hosted their respective opposition. All three ran out convincing winners playing superb running rugby.

Trinity Seconds had an impressive win over Suttonians 38-3. In the first half into the elements the for-

wards controlled the ball well and they scored two tries. In the second half the game opened up and the students played some superb running rugby.

The Trinity under-20s continued their unbeaten league form with a highly impressive 27-8 demolition of archrivals Lansdowne. The team ran the ball from all over the field, and the forwards destroyed their opposites in the tight.

The Trinity U20s “B” started the day and had their first win of the season, when they beat Clontarf 38-18. A lot of players showed their wares in an entertaining fashion.

Trinity Thirds drew two and lost two in their seeding blitz in Greystones.

DUFC First XV vs Garryowen: 15 Phil Howard, 14 Conor Donohue, 13 George Byron, 12 Brian Hastings (Johnny Watt 3), 11 Shane Hanratty, 10 Donal Crotty, 9 Matt D’Arcy, 1 Niall Conlon (Killian O’Neill 45), 2 Matt Crockett, 3 Paul Doran Jones, 4 Richard Morrow, 5 Marc Warburton (Gregory Herrera 1), 6 Philip Rowe (Mark Cooney 60), 7 Richard White, 8 Hugh Hogan

100 years ago in College sport Boat Club The various crews for the forthcoming Michaelmas Term Races have been provisionally selected, and are given below. There is every likelihood of another four being added to the list, and the Captain desires all those whose names do not appear below, and who are desirous of rowing, to send their names to him at the Club, not later than Saturday next. As will be seen by the list appended, the number of members taking part in the races is well up to the average. The dates for the races have been fixed for December 12th, 13th, and 14th. As the time for training is now limited, it is specially requested that all strokes should endeavour to get their crews afloat as often as possible before the actually day of racing arrives. Crews: Fours: (I) N. Chance, J. Arbuthnot, J.G. Doherty, J. du P. Langrishe (stroke). (II) J.A. Morton, P. Chance, C.M. Dobbs, M.P. Leahy (stroke). (III) W. Colquhoun, M.W. M’Caul, A.P. Colfer, H.S.B. Taylor (stroke). (IV) A.M. Winder, J.R. Biggs, L.J.M. Hewson, S.C. Webb (stroke). (V) R.E. Griffiths, E. Leahy, G.E.B. Scott, A.A. M’Neight (stroke).

Fixed Seat Pairs: (I) W.J.N. Moran, J. Drury (stroke). (II) H. Daly, N. Morton (stroke). (III) B.D. Crichton, A.G. Crichton (stroke).

(IV) B. Hickson, W.R.F. Ryan (stroke). (V) G.B. M’Hutcheson, C.W.J. Alison (stroke). (VI) H.D. Holmes, A.J. Samuels (stroke).

Rugby Football In spite of rigorous weather on Saturday, three of our teams turned out, and two matches were played.

Good football seemed an impossibility, at least, in the College Park, there being two or three inches of snow on the ground. The first XV sustained another defeat, on this occasion at the hand of Old Wesley, in a match that was more or less a scramble. Out backs were able to do very little with the ball; of the forwards Sugars and De Courcy distinguished themselves.

There are two points to which we would call the attention of the forwards. When a man has been tackled, or a rush has been stopped by a back, the forwards of every team are much too slow in coming to his assistance; and when a forward breaks away on a dribble, he is usually allowed to proceed in solitary grandeur.

On Monday we had, as visitors, Birkenhead Park FC, and the team amply made up for Saturday’s performance. We outplayed them in almost every department of the game. Special mention should be made of George, Beckett, and Huggard: but considering the state of the ground and of the ball, the passing of the backs was admirable. The forwards played with true Irish dash, and although our opponents were slightly better in the tight, they were very far behind us in the loose. The score was two goals and four tries to nil.

On Saturday the second match against Old Wesley Second had been arranged to start at 2.30.

The referee did not make an appearance till 3.15, and so, during three-quarters of an hour, the team had the pleasure of cooling its heels (or perhaps its toes), in the Old Wesley pavilion. When the match eventually did take place, we won

27

by two tries to one. Of the backs, Aston, and of the forwards, Perry, played well.

3rdA was, also, unfortunate on Saturday. They paid a fruitless visit to Wanderers’ ground, for, after waiting half-an-hour, they dimly discerned through the mist two Wanderers’ men, who told them they might return home.

On Thursday week the third XV beat Drogheda FC by one goal and one try to nil. The back division was far below its usual form, and gave an execrable display.

Association Football On Wednesday of last week we played Connaught Rangers, and defeated them by three goals to one. It was an excellent game, and reminded one of our match against them last year at Mullingar, when we won by the same score.

On Saturday last, in not very congenial weather, we played Tritonville, who gained a victory by five goals to three. As they were the League champions last year the score was not discreditable; but a draw would have better represented the play. Page at inside right is a great improvement. All the forwards played well, dribbling and passing with more accuracy than they have displayed in any other match. Matthews at outside right did some very useful work. Of the halves, who were without Lambkin, Wilkinson was the best, and Fox-Goodman the worst. The latter has fallen off greatly since the beginning of the season, and will have to play up much harder, and practise more, if he wishes to retain his place. Griffith played a dashing

game, and as a rule is fairly safe; if he transferred some of his attention from the man to the ball, he would be safer still.

By the time this is in print we hope that the tickets for the match v London United Hospitals AFC will be on sale at Lynch’s. There will be no match today on account of the New Zealand match.

Hockey Notes It was a pity the weather was so bad on Saturday, as out match with Three Rock Rovers had to be put off. The ground was covered with snow, and circle and touch lines had to be imagined. After a consultation of the captains, who were assisted with the best of legal advice, it was decided that the ground was quite unfit for play.

Thereupon, to demonstrate the value of this decision, a “friendly” was played, which was distinguished from other “friendlies” by the fact that no one was hurt.

All other matches were put off, with the exception of the third XI match with Three Rock Rovers’ third XI. Out opponents pleaded that the ground was unplayable, etc, etc, but the Third were relentless, and beat the Rovers nine goals to nil. The score does not point to an exciting game, but that it was so, is proved by the fact that the Rovers nearly got a goal. However, Fate, in the shape of Cooper, averted this catastrophe, and the Third may pride themselves on creating a record, having scored fifty goals in six matches, without a point being got against them.

To mark their apprecia-

tion of the team’s achievements, the Committee have decided to enter first, second and third XIs for the Cup Competitions.

As anyone can see by walking through the Front Gate, the Dance is to be held on Tuesday, 5th December, in the Rotunda.

Tickets are in great demand; they can be obtained in College from Messrs Bridge, 28 TCD, Dagg, 9 TCD, Gregg, 30 TCD; price 10s each. The price, however, will be raised on and after Monday, December 4th.

Harriers Last Saturday’s meet was at Rathfarnham. The attendance was not very large, probably owing to the weather, but the run, on the whole, was an enjoyable one. The hares led the way in the direction of the Meadowbrook course, and after crossing some good country, over which the going was rather heavy through the snow, turned home, but had the misfortune to run into the pack, who had lost the trail, and were scouring the country.

All then made for home, and a good finish of about half a mile on the road saw Blackburne in first, with Kerr close up.

The old members of the Club should try to turn out regularly, several of them having been to only one run so far this season.

More than half of those out last Saturday were new members.

There will be a run in the College Park this (Saturday) morning at 11.15 o’clock.

Extracts taken from TCD: A College Miscellany, No. 195 (1905).

In the Irish Hockey Intervarsity competition last week, Trinity beat the University of Ulster Jordanstown in the semi-final 4-1; goals coming from Irish internationals Phelie Maguire and Peter Blakeney. Blakeney bagged a brace. Also on the score sheet was Dan Needham. This set up a final against Cork IT, competing for the first time in the Irish Intervarsities, who had earlier beaten DU two nil in the group stages. It was a tense final and Trinity went into half time one nil down. Some strong words from the coaching staff Gilles van Hesteren and Adam Ward saw a much more focused Trinity side in the second half. A fantastic drag

flick from Peter Blakeney leveled the score before a Dan Needham strike in the dying minutes was the queue for the celebrations to begin all over Santry, the Hockey Club regaining the Mauritius Cup they relinquished to the University of Ulster a year ago.

DU Hockey Club squad: 1 Jonathan Roydes, 2 Barry Glavy, 3 Aengus Stanley, 4 Jason Byran, 5 Conor O’Sullivan, 6 John Blakeney, 7 Phelie Maguire (Captain), 8 Ben Hewitt, 9 Peter Blakeney, 10 Stephen Findlater, 11 Philip Balbirnie, 12 Daniel Needham, 13 Jonny Orr, 14 Daire Coady, 15 Nick Odlum, 16 Scot McKechnie

Trinity to fight the Tabs in February The date has been set for this year’s match between Dublin and Cambridge University Amateur Boxing Clubs. The competition will take place in Cambridge on the 3rd and 4th of February next.

Cambridge’s boxing club have a tough team which always challenges Trinity and this year can be expected to be no different. Last year the event did not occur due to complications with other boxing fixtures so this year Trinity travel to them for (hopefully) another victory.

DU Amateur Boxing Club’s second social night is also coming up; so if you missed October’s quiz, now is your chance to join the fun. A “seventies” night is being organised with the DU Tae Kwon-do Club for

Wednesday, 23 November in the new club “Rouge”. Dress code is to be “seventies” and there will be a prize for the best dressed.

Entrance fee will be five euro on the night or three euro from the Club in advance. Trinity College ID will be required and the DJ will be ordered to play nothing but seventies tunes.

Prof David Scott, the Professor of French (Textual and Visual Studies), has just written a book, Neurotic Masculinity Representing Boxing: The Ring and the Ropes. The book takes a look at boxing, its themes, shapes, and how it relates to various works of art. He is giving a talk on the book today (Tuesday 15th) at 5pm in room 4096 of the Arts Building.

Sports bursary applications sought The Senior Tutor’s Office is currently accepting applications for two sports bursaries for needy sporting students.

The Minchin Bursary was established in 1982 using money from the will of G Minchin. A committee consisting of the Senior Dean (Mr Cyril Smyth), the Senior Tutor (Dr Claire Laudet), the Junior Dean (Ms Emma Stokes) and the Director of Sport and Recreation (Mr Terry McAuley) chooses from the candidates. The value of each part (three parts) is €1269.

Only undergraduates may apply, excluding, oddly, maths and physics students.

The Taverners’ Cricket Sports Bursary was established in 1993, primarily by the DU Museum Players, and consists of one bursary of €355. It is awarded to a student chosen by the Senior Tutor and the Director of Sport and Recreation with a member of the DU Museum Players.

More information can be found in the University of Dublin Calendar, pages T62 and T63.

Ladies’ Boat Club at Neptune Head The first head race of the season took place last Saturday, 12 November. DU Ladies’ Boat Club entered three boats, performing excellently. The Club won the senior eight pennant, beating closest rivals Neptune Rowing Club by ten seconds. The Club’s interme-

diate eight also won their category’s pennant. One single scull was entered, with experienced sculler Nicola Fitz-Simon taking seventh place in the intermediate category.

The Club’s results at this race bode well for next year’s regatta season.

Ladies’ lacrosse colours match loss Trinity’s fledgling Lacrosse Club played their first Colours matches with UCD last Saturday at Herbert Park. The weather was bright and pleasant but the pitch was covered in leaves, muddy, and the grass was uncut – not ideal conditions for lacrosse playing.

As a new club, it had been feared that there would not be enough lacrosse sticks to go round. Fortunately, between the two teams, everyone managed to acquire a stick!

The game was led by Belfield for the first half, the score staying at 4-0 for a while. The Trinity girls rallied in the second

half, but UCD stayed ahead, winning 7-4. There were about thirty spectators for the game.

The new Club is hoping to be recognised by the Central Athletic Club in the future. Trinity had a Lacrosse Club in the past, the DU Women’s Lacrosse Club affiliating to DUCAC in 1936. It faded in the 1970s, playing an annual game against the DU Knights of the Campanile in its last years. An Irish Women’s team played Wales in a lacrosse game in College Park in 1956.

To contact the Club write to cfitzge2@tcd.ie.

28

Tuesday November 15, 2005

Sports Editor: Peter Henry

Trinity News

SPORT

Trinity fail to ignite at rugby colours Tadhg Peavoy Dublin University 13 University College, Dublin 25 The 54th Annual Rugby Colours match at Donnybrook last Friday night was a disappointing encounter. After last year’s pulsating 20-20 draw, Trinity firmly believed the times-were-a-changing in the Colours fixture. For the ninth time in ten years, however, the Belfield side came out on top.

Not only did UCD claim the Colours, but also points in the AIL, as this match doubled as a League Division One encounter.

The victory shot the sky blues from twelfth to seventh in the table.

UCD garnered a dream start with their sublime out-half Eoghan Hickey knocking over a penalty. The same player soon afterwards launched an inch-perfect cross-field kick, which dropped perfectly into wing Stephen Grissing’s cradled arms.

From there he ambled across the line for the five points.

From then on things only got worse for the city centre side.

Centre Ken Kennedy popped up a ball in the midfield for Hickey to charge unchallenged toward the Trinity line after thirty-four minutes. He duly converted his own try.

Trinity, sensing the game was slipping out of their grasp, pulled three points back before the interval, through a Donal Crotty penalty. This left the game poised at 15-3. The former Belvedere

College out-half added another penalty after the break to haul Trinity back in touch.

John McClean’s introduction of Leinster players Robert Kearney and Ronan McCormack at half time, however, soon paid dividends for UCD. Despite losing Captain Kevin Croke to a yellow card, the lowlight of the game, UCD continued to torment Trinity.

Hickey landed a second penalty after fifty minutes.

Following this, Philip Howard’s illadvised decision to go in high on Kearney, allowed the UCD full back to evade his challenge. The Leinster man then nipped over the line for a third and game-killing try in the seventy-fifth minute.

Hickey’s man of the match display was capped by a further conversion. This left the score at 25-6.

As so often happens in one-sided encounters, the controllers, UCD, took their foot off the gas. This allowed blindside flanker Philip Rowe to snatch a late consolation try for Trinners.

There is no doubt that this defeat is a big blow to Trinity.

This was by usual standards a weak UCD team, in comparison to recent years.

Despite this fact, Tony Smeeth’s side could not muscle their way into the game at all. The UCD pack was not invincible; however, Trinity did not step up to the challenge.

The ball was rarely recycled with enough efficiency to make any inroads into UCD territory. Meanwhile, UCD recycled

quickly and slickly. In tandem with this, College offloaded the ball in the tackle with fluency.

In this writer’s opinion, the departure of Jamie Heaslip to Clontarf has left a huge void in Trinity’s back-row.

Perhaps the inclusion of Ritchie White in the side would have helped Trinity muster a more substantial challenge. The flanker could have given an extra physical edge at the breakdown and allowed the back division more time to structure their attack.

Behind the pack, there was some notable talent in the UCD back-line. Out-half Eoghan Hickey was immense throughout.

He orchestrated the proceedings like a seasoned pro, carving Trinity up like roast beef for Sunday lunch for most of the evening. Scrumhalf Brian O’Riordan was also a very able lieutenant to his halfback partner.

It’s not all doom and gloom for Trinity, however, as several of their players displayed much promise.

Matt D’Arcy played extremely well at scrum half, utilizing the little ball his pack managed to feed him and looks set to grow into a very useful player.

Meanwhile Johnny Watt’s second half introduction at number 10 gave Trinity a much more creative influence in midfield. In bringing Watts on, Donal Crotty was re-positioned at full back, a position he would perhaps be better utilized at in the future.

Overall, this was a slow, one-sided affair, vitalized only by Eoghan Hickey’s presence for

Where’s the Ball: University College Dominating at Donnybrook University College.

It is a case of back to the drawing board for DUFC. This is their fifth straight defeat of the new league campaign. They were brave but beaten; surely, the only way is up.

DUFC XV: P Howard, S Hanratty, G Byron, C Donohue, F Keane (J

Watt 68); D Crotty, M D’Arcy (C McShane 78); N Conlon, M Crockett (Captain) (M Cooney 78); P Doran-Jones (K O’Neill 65); M Garvey, M Warburton, P Rowe, H Hogan, G Herrera (R Morrow 78) DUFC: P Rowe try; D Crotty 2 pens; J Watt 1 con.

UCDRFC XV: R McCarron, (R Kearney half-time); S Grissing, K Kennedy, N Kearns, D McKenna, E Hickey, B O’Riordan, J A Lee, (R McCormack 50); C Geoghegan, K Doyle, B Hall, R Mandeno, (L Burke 58), S Crawford, K Croke (Captain), K McLaughlin

Photo: Peter Henry cons; S Grissing, R Kearney 1 try each.

REF – D Keane (Leinster).

UCDRFC: E Hickey try, 2 pens, 2

Windsurfers at Achill Nobody likes

rowers David Cummins and Lisa Hayden

Matt Pitt busting out some flat water jumps on Keel Lake

Seán O’Callaghan On the afternoon of 28 of October we all met at the lockup and loaded a great big bus with sails, boards, masts, wetsuits, drinks and students. Our destination: Achill Island, a little slice of watersporting paradise just off the west coast of our wee isle.

This year saw a troop of just under forty participants heading to a small clutch of houses situated just beside a large lake and 300 meters from the Atlantic Ocean. The bus journey was long and arduous, but after a few hours and a quick stop off in Lidl for supplies, we arrived and got ourselves settled in. The evening saw the assignment of houses, the stocking of fridges in anticipation of the three days to come and the grabbing of the most favourable sleeping spaces followed by the prompt depletion of said stocked fridges.

The Saturday morning brought with it some amazing conditions for the advanced crew with steady strong westerly winds turn-

ing the surface of the lake into a sea of obsidian. The beginners never stood a chance and so were left to their beds and warm houses whilst the cries of suicidal intermediates and battling advanced surfers filled the lake. These conditions didn’t let up until the early afternoon when the smaller sails rigged for the morning were handed to the beginners, now fully rested and filled with zeal, and the quiver was emptied of the larger calibre canvases so as to allow the ever enthusiastic morning crew to continue.

The evening brought some well deserved rest and some much appreciated hot showers and warm clothes to all. After a good feed it was time to attack again, only this time, we were heading to “the Annex”, the local pub on the island and home to best Guinness I’ve ever had, followed by a trip to “the Head”, the islands only nightclub and a good laugh as well.

Sunday was a somewhat different affair. There were a multitude of sore heads and lost appetites, not to mention the lost co-ordination which, when coupled

with the even stronger force eight winds, which were there to greet us on the lake (the surface of which was shrouded in a haze of upset water) led to the demise of several pieces of kit – not least of all, my own favourite sail, which I managed to put myself through.

Determined as always though, we battled on, and as the morning progressed, the heads cleared, the coordination returned and the winds grew. Sunday brought some of the best conditions I have ever had the pleasure if sailing in; conditions which would humble the likes of the mighty Pozo. Once again, the beginners were left to their beds until the early afternoon at which time the gear was once again handed over. This time however, there was no extra rigging done. Rest was required.

And rest we did.

Watching the beginners from the shoreline and being quite impressed by what we saw we returned to the cottages at dusk assured that there would be no shortage of people to continue the club into its twenty-third year after

Photo: Sean O’Callaghan our present captain has handed the torch.

Once again the evening brought many laughs, particularly as we donned our Sunday worst for a slightly premature celebration of Halloween. We were entertained by pirates and nuns, vampires and jungle men, a conscience, transvestites and kittens, and box heads with carrot noses. Once again a trip to the Annex was called for where the locals were quite amused by our antics; however, no-one was brave enough to venture once more the Head. Beds were reached in reasonable time by most and I for one, slept like the dead.

Monday saw the weather the beginners had been hoping for all weekend, nice medium strength, and steady winds. This was a morning for them and those who came out made the most of it whilst the remaining crew tidied the houses in anticipation of the bus to take us back to reality.

It was an incredible trip for all and will be ever preserved in the hundreds of photos taken; many of which will never be shown.

Nobody likes rowers. Probably because they are boring and spend ridiculous amounts of time training. Now and then, their lives are brightened up by the prospect of a time trial. Such races generally take place during the winter and spring months, their main purpose being to take away from the monotony and tedium of training, and focus the rowers’ minds on the competition that lies ahead. But preparation is necessary.

Preparation is the key.

Race day. It doesn’t start here. It starts in early October.

Conditions perfect. Tuesday, 6.45 am. Early mornings. “We’re on the water while everyone else is in their beds. That’s where we’ll win”. Stroke after stroke. Gliding up and down the river. Longing for a change of scenery from the banks of the Liffey.

Eight men. One movement. Hands, body, slide.

Coordinated perfectly. 24 times a minute. One-hundred minutes over.

It’s monotonous but they know that harmony comes through pain and repetition and pain.

Sometimes the coach will say nothing. Sometimes he will say “six, watch your body position at the catch”. But there are always the voices in their heads.

Asking questions. “Is my catch sharp enough?” “Are my hands moving at the turn?” Sometimes they will wonder what the crews in Galway are doing at this very minute.

Race day. Another early morning. Venue – Blessington Lake – Neptune Head of the River.

This is the first race for the newly formed crew, racing in the senior eight category. Standards are high.

Tensions elevated. Nerves rampant.

Eleven DUBC boats are

entered for the race. The course is four-thousand metres in length and provides clubs with the opportunity to gauge their speed compared to that of rivals from across the country. The DUBC entry includes a senior eight, an intermediate eight, two novice eights, a novice four, an intermediate coxless four and five intermediate single sculls.

Conditions are relatively calm on this unpredictable stretch of water.

They arrive early at the course. Team talk. They stand together and visualise the race plan. Then they relax and have something to eat. Forty minutes before the race they go on the water. It’s automatic.

All crew in the boat.

Oars in gates. Foot stretchers checked and adjusted. Backstops – Are you ready – Go. Paddle up to the start. Warm up exercises two kilometers up the lake to the top.

Next stroke – Easy all. Drifting amongst the other crews.

Waiting to be called to the start. Crew number three. Third crew off the start.

With returning novice oarsman Sean Osborne sitting in the stroke seat, DUBC’s senior crew recorded a time of 11:59 to finish fourth overall, twenty-two seconds behind the overall winners. The crew is effectively an intermediate boat, and so there is reason to be optimistic for the forthcoming season.

In recent years, Neptune Head has proven effective in that it allows incoming first year novices the chance to see for themselves what the rowing scene actually involves. Many of DUBC’s newcomers appeared pleased with their performances on the day. Racing is often described as the best training.

For novices, attendance at early races such as Neptune Head is a good way of generating enthusiasm and boosting team morale. The two novice eights succeeded in completing the course in impressive

Send your match reports, articles, opinion pieces and other College sport related comment to pehenry@tcd.ie

times, given they have only been rowing for four weeks.

At intermediate level, the eight finished fourth in their category in a time of 12:43, placing them twelfth overall. Again, the majority of this crew is eligible to race as novices. Racing at a higher level can only be beneficial to the athletes as they continue to strive for further improvement. The Club’s single scullers also had a worthwhile outing, all competing in the intermediate category.

Robert Swift lived up to his name, proving the fastest of the five in a time of 15:56. For the fours, both coxed and coxless, the race had mixed fortunes; the latter crew was disqualified despite recording a fast time, while the former blasted down the course in true Trinity fashion.

DUBC have a hunger to win the novice and intermediate championships this year. That’s why every ergo session, every run in the park, every blade in the water is devoted to catching the opposition by the time the championships come round. This race was just a stepping stone.

Senior Eight: Simon Flaherty (bow), Edward Roffe-Silvester (2), Rory Horner (3), Rory Browne (4), David Keane (5), Robert Swift (6), Joseph Calnan (7), Seán Osborne (stroke), Jonathan Maitland (cox).

Intermediate Eight: Gabriel Magee (bow), Niall Cullinane (2), Alexander Grubb (3), Myles Gutkin (4), Samuel Beatty (5), John Graiguenamanagh (6), John McCabe (7), Gavin Doherty (stroke), Jane Fraher (cox).

Intermediate Single Sculls: David Cummins, Edward Roffe-Silvester, Robert Swift, Simon Flaherty.

For a report as Gaeilge of DU Boat Club’s recent “Slave Auction”, see page 22.